What is love to you?
by S.B. Liky
Summary: For some love comes from a first glance, for others it is a painful and thorny path. Fate has placed popular but cocky Natsu and equally unpopular and secluded Lucy on one such path filled with mistakes, bitter decisions and secrets. How will they endure all the obstacles and pitfalls on this difficult road in order to understand what exactly is love? Non-magical college AU.
1. Let's make a bet

**A/N: I really don't know why I started this... No that's a lie, I started it because I have story in my head but I do not know why I decided to actually write it and publish. I suppose it is because this is not my usual style of writing and I wanted to test it out and see how it goes, if I manage to complete it, if you, my beloved readers, can sense the amount of feelings that I had while I was writing it.**

**I had fun writing first chapter and I know this story is riddled with cliche which I am more than sure you have already read but I am confident, you didn't read it from _me_ so... I will tell you this particular story of two individuals from two different worlds trying to understand what exactly is... love?**

* * *

"You're late" Gray said under his helmet

"I know, bit it was worth it"

Gray just snorted at this "You are one lucky bastard, you know that? If coach finds out that you were late you'll be in deep shit"

"Well if you don't blab about it, he won't."

"Dragneel!" loud, growling voice shouted, making the both of them cringe. Professor Elfman Strauss is a large hulk of a man who coached football and previous football champion and weight lifter, a sport prodigy from Fairy Tail who got a job as their coach and improved their score drastically to a point where number of lost games is almost marginal. He was pissed to his very bones as he approached pink-haired man in question.

"Guess you are wrong again, see ya ass face!" Gray chuckled as he ran toward other side of the field.

"Shit…" he said for himself before standing tall but not nearly as tall as coach was "Sorry coach, I got stuck in the class."

"Don't you lie to me boy, I know where you've been. If you wanna stay in first team then straighten up and learn responsibility like a man!"

"Yes coach..." he swallowed hard as the hulking muscle mountain towered over him

"You're on cleaning duty today."

"Oh come on coach! I got history class after practice and I can't be late again!"

"Does it look like I care? Next time get your ass here on time and you will leave on time! Now get in line!"

This day could not get worse for him, though the reason for being late was indeed worth it in his opinion. Natsu just wiped off his grin at brief memory that caused his late appearance and moved on with practice.

Fairty Tail University. This is college known far and wide throughout Magnolia and further and for good reason. Aside from having almost every possible class to attend to ranging from social and natural sciences, literature, drama and others, this particular university was known for its scholarship program. It allowed most gifted of students to hone their skills and become not only successful in life, but also leaders in their respective field. Indeed, only few managed to fail in doing so. With such high standard comes high demand but it was all worth it in the end since many considered Fairy Tail not to be just a stepping stone but more of a leaping-start.

The student in question here is Natsu Dragneel nicknamed "Salamander" due to his fiery nature and tendency to quickly become agitated and explode. Sport prodigy and quarterback of the Fairy Tail Uni he is as cocky, arrogant and popular as it comes but that was overlooked by the coach, to an extent. It was Natsu who brought them victory at the Magnolia Cup finals against Phantom Lord University. If it wasn't for his skills, Elfman would have kicked him out of the team but he couldn't argue the results he brought. Most of his rants were not about his dedication, far from it, Natsu was extremely dedicated to his cause. No, the reason why coach yelled so much at Natsu was because of his attitude which he personally believed could use a big trim in size.

The one Natsu was talking before is Gray Fullbuster going by the nickname "Iceman", another football player and his close friend. Contrary to Natsu, his attitude was known to be calm and calculative, preferring to think before acting. Many wondered how they managed to get along due to such contradictory personalities and occasional argues, but then again few knew history this pair shared. Gray' relationship captain of the university's swim team Juvia Lockser permanently removed him from "potential boyfriend market" due to Juvia's… uneasy nature when it came to him. It was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear of even approaching Gray. Within moments, pair of glaring eyes and cold chill would envelop the poor girl who foolishly believed he is single. Indeed, Juvia's jealousy and over-clinging nature were legendary.

"So why did you come late?" Gray asked with bit grin as he threw balls into cart that Natsu was pulling after the practice. Coach ensured that Natsu's punishment is well-monitored.

"I was busy doing stuff."

"Yeah, so whom did you do now?"

"Jenny from third year."

"You're shitting me!" Gray looked at him with great disbelief "I thought she didn't want to date you."

"As if any can keep refusing me forever" Natsu smirked, leaning over the cart, stretching himself as Gray kept throwing balls into it "Have you seen me naked? I'd do me if I was a chick."

"Alright, alright, enough with the nightmares…" Gray shuddered and threw another long ball, making the hit inside the cart with almost immaculate precision "So did you press her in the bathroom like Cindy?"

"Nah we just made out near the classroom."

"So that's the reason you got late to practice." Gray concluded as he walked near the cart.

"I told you, it was totally worth it" Natsu stepped away and ran toward the ball that was on the ground and picked it up "First: Smooth kick-start pickup line..." he aimed with the ball "Then you lure her in with a bit of Natsu-spice and just when she is ready…" he threw the ball and it landed inside the cart "Touchdown!"

"I can't believe she fell for that!" Gray waved with head, face completely blank, devoid of any emotion as he processed Natsu's words.

"Believe it, snow princess!" Natsu looked toward the big clock-tower "Shit!" his eyes fell down on Gray who pointed toward him.

"You owe me!"

"Thanks snowflakes!" Natsu ran off, removing his jersey. Gray simply waved head once more as he watched.

"Bloody sly lizard…" he chuckled and looked across the stadium at previously named blue-haired girl. Big smile adorned his face "Hey sweetie, will be right over!"

Natsu ran across the hall, avoiding students as he tried to adjust his uniform, keeping bag behind him as it flailed from side to side due to his zig-zag running. "Shit shit shit!" He muttered as he ran, trying to reach end of the hallway where classroom was but just as he was about to reach his destination, he stumbled, rammed into another student and fell down.

"Hey watch it!" He shouted as he picked himself up from the floor, looking at blond haired girl who also fell. She stood up a second after, picking her belongings up from the floor.

"Sorry…" she uttered in low tone, still collecting papers and notebooks.

"Yea you better be! Fuck!" he straightened his jacket and ran again, reaching the classroom "Oh good…" he sighed in relief as he moved toward the seat "She isn't here yet"

"Another long run?" Orange haired student asked, keeping eyes forward to the center of amphitheater.

"Shut it Loke."

Loke is perhaps one of the few people that Natsu could openly admit to be "worthy rival". Smooth, elegant, courteous... to put it simply, he behaved like a true gentleman... but behind the sweet word and alluring smile was a womanizer who stole many hearts. Over the course of few years their rivalry grew into friendship but they still retained their competitive nature, mostly over how many girls they managed to lure into their grasp. Natsu tried many times to see just what is it that made him so irresistible to girls. But there was also a side that Loke kept away from public knowledge, even from Natsu.

"So I heard you finally managed to snatch Jenny."

"Yeah, well what can I say, she couldn't resist me."

"Has she tried looking at you?" Loke teased, grinning wide at Natsu "That should be enough."

"Bite me Goldilocks..."

"You know I slept with her during freshman year" Loke added with a chuckle.

"You're full of shit, Loke."

"I am not joking. We met at one of the parties, had couple of drinks and one thing led to another. If you wanted to get her sooner you should've given her glass of beer, she can't hold her liquor."

"So now I am lagging behind you?" Natsu asked, looking at Loke. Instead of answer, all he could receive was a wink from him and a confirmation that it was one battle he lost. Battle, yes... but not war.

Woman in her mid-thirties entered the classroom and closed the door, making way toward the desk. Her light brown hair, glasses and slender figure made many of girls envy her, wondering if they will look just half as good as her when they reach her age. Jealousy was strong and so was the fear, all of which made boys fantasize about her. They may be mature now but boys will always be boys. Natsu was no exception. His eyes were fixed upon Mrs. Evergreen in her green dress which was flawlessly enveloping her figure.

"Man, just look at her..." Natsu whispered, leaning chin on his palm.

"Dude, don't go that way." Loke whispered back through corner of his mouth.

"You kidding me? Look at the size of her tits I could nestle my head in there and still have room to wiggle. How can anyone not want her?"

"Trust me, you really don't wanna go there."

"Why? Is she lesbian?"

"She got married last summer"

"So what? She probably married some asshole who didn't have his dick up since his 16th birthday." Natsu smirked, keeping his eyes glued to her, licking his lips "Married women in mid thirties are best. Unsatisfied and practically begging for any action.

"You're so full of it..." Loke commented, keeping his posture straight and trying to focus on lecture. As much as he wanted to contradict Natsu, he couldn't deny that even he harbored few fantasies of his own.

"Humor me. Who is the lucky bastard who charmed her?"

"Here's a hint..." Loke leaned a bit toward him "Her full name is Evergreen Strauss. See if that rings any bell." this made Natsu cough from the shock

"Wait, you are telling me she married coach Elfman?"

"Mmmhmmm… and if he finds out you're ogling his wife he's gonna compact you into the size of ball, and I'm not talking about football." they both exchanged glances and Loke nodded down toward Natsu's groin which made him even more uncomfortable.

"Can't believe she married him…"

"Mister Dragneel" Evergreen shouted and fold her arms, making Natsu completely petrified in his place "I take it you found something more interesting to discuss other than the lecture."

"No ma'am" he said, feeling slightly embarrassed as everyone was looking at him.

"Then I suggest you pay attention" she said angrily before continuing her lecture.

Natsu nodded and as soon as she averted her gaze from him, he opened notebook, at least trying to pretend that he is paying attention. The way she acted, she probably got into a spat with her husband and both of them are venting their frustration on him. In Natsu's opinion, this was not among the important lectures. He only needed passing mark and he can achieve that on few projects and a paper, no need to worry about exams and with that in mind he didn't put much of his attention any further than to avoid receiving bad marks. Finally the bell rang and both Natsu and Loke picked up their books and stepped out of the classroom.

"So what's next?" Loke asked

"I think I got advanced English now..." Pinkette frowned "Why do I need to attend the class when I already talk well?"

"Because they believe you should learn how to talk properly, numbnuts. Wait till they see how wrong they were..."

Natsu growled at the remark. His hand reached his own neck, squeezing lightly to relive himself of the stiffness he had due to bad sleep. His eyes wandered and he spotted the same blonde who he bumped into earlier. Now that he had time to look at her she wasn't half bad. Uniform did well to hide much of her qualities but it was impossible to hide size breasts and from this angle... she was kinda cute.

"Hey I remember her." Natsu nudged Loke who looked toward direction Natsu was pointing at.

"Who? Lucy?"

"Yea, I bumped into her when I was coming to history class."

"Don't try anything with her." Loke quickly warned, frowning lightly.

"Why not? Is she relative of Strauss family?"

"No but she is not your type."

"She is a girl with boobs, nice body and cute face. She _is_ my type"

"Alright let me make this clear…" Loke turned toward Natsu and bumped his fist lightly into his chest "In entire university there are two girls you need to avoid at all cost. One is Mrs. Evergreen but that's under penalty of death that professor Eflman promises. Other girl is Lucy. Trust me she doesn't respond to anyone and I am telling you from personal experience."

"Did you already try to have sex with her?"

"No but she rejected just about everyone who asked her out. That should speak volume."

"Ice queen, huh..." Natsu smirked as he adjusted collar of his jacket "Don't worry I'll get through to her."

"Natsu, don't. Just… don't…" Loke grabbed his shoulder with hand, planting a squeeze to avoid him slipping "Trust me she is _not_ your type."

"Just 'cause you flanked, failed and burned doesn't mean I will."

With another smirk Natsu broke out of Loke's grasp, making him sigh as he watched him go. He blew air into his hand to smell his breath and walked toward her. His arms leaned against the wall right next to her.

"Hey there. I think we kinda had a bad start this morning."

She didn't even glance at him "Nothing to start now either."

"So… what's your name?" He asked but no reply came from her. Instead, she just looked over at him before walking in other direction. He followed closely.

"Not even gonna tell me your name huh?"

"Stop following me." she replied angrily, clenching her arms around books she held to her chest.

"I will once you tell me your name."

"Please go away…" Lucy said in lower tone, trying different approach but before she could get away he stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Why are you so cold? Come on, your crown won't fall off if you tell me your name."

Lucy glared at him, there was no sign of the cuteness that he expected from her. She was different... different from other girls who couldn't help but either smile or giggle at him... but this girl just turned and walked around him, continuing her intended path, leaving him behind. He was annoyed, angry. No one ever rejected him like this before.

Determined, he turned around rushed over to her, following her in quick steps, grabbing her left arm just above her elbow, making her turn to face him.

"What gives blondie!?" He asked, still not wanting to reveal that he knows her name.

"Let me go!" Lucy shouted, jerking her arm from him. In one brief moment, their eyes met and all he could see that there was something in them... More than mere annoyance at his attempts to soften her… There was also fear, pure genuine terror as she took few steps back from him and rushed past him once more.

"The fuck was that about? I just wanted to ask her about her name..." Natsu turned head and watch her run away. To say that he was confused was an understatement. Hallway slowly emptied as bell rang for the start of the class and he looked around. Few people around him watched, whispering among themselves, some girls giggling at the major failure that Natsu just suffered.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Loke approached, holding his blazer over shoulder.

"She's just playing t hard to get. I'll have her before this week ends." Natsu nodded to himself.

"Is that a bet?" Loke smirked taking jacket from his shoulder and placed it on, fingers moved to buttons "Alright I'll take that. Hmmm, if you lose you pay round at Sabertooth."

"Deal" Natsu smirked, taking Loke's hand for a shake. His eyes once more looked in direction that Lucy went, even though she can no longer be seen on the halls. He couldn't even comprehend the difficulty he will eventually face.

* * *

**A/N: I am realizing that my Fairy Tail characters tend to start of as being big asses. Hmmm... Wonder where this will lead :D. Anyway... please let me know what you think about this unusual start.**


	2. Ice queen and flame boy

**A/N: I have bad tendency to make my characters into asses... I still don't know why I chose this style of writing but for some reason I am oddly tempted to continue. I have way too many ideas for this story and I intend to make this into full emotional ride. Anyway let me know what you think about it and thank you all for your reviews so far, looking forward to more chapters!**

* * *

"Natsu Dragneel! Your alarm has been ringing for ten minutes now!" loud bellowing voice was heard along with knocking on the wooden doors. Hand sluggishly wandered around, trying to find the source of this annoying beeping and once he found it, he pressed button. The sound stopped and he opened his still dreamy eyes, scratching his belly.

"I'm… up…" he said low voice, just barely audible to be heard on other side of the door.

"Get yourself ready young man, breakfast is ready."

"I hate Tuesdays…" Natsu grumbled as he propped himself up, walking to the bathroom for a shower. How he managed to get out of his boxers is perhaps biggest of mysteries. The freezing sensation of cold snatched him back from the land of dreams. For some reason he was never bothered by cold showers, maybe because his blood circulation was fast and he was always hot. Maybe it was because he got used to them after all those years. It was one of those questions he never bothered to find answer to and he never needed to. All that he cared about is that it wakes him up and makes him feel good.

Fifteen minutes later he was already in his inform, holding jacket over his shoulder along with bag. Table was already set with breakfast and though Wendy was munching on her fried eggs, Igneel was content to read his morning papers along with first coffee of the day. Both are already dressed up, Wendy in her highschool uniform while Ingeel had his suit on, black pants and white shirt with tie still loose.

"Hey dad, hey sis..." Natsu greeted them as he moved toward the table, kissing Wendy on top of her head and sat "Hey Gran" He added louder for person in the kitchen to hear.

"Natsu, what did I tell you?" Red haired man moved one side of the paper to look at him with slight frown on his face.

"Wha?" Natsu asked, genuinely confused.

"You should say 'Good morning' and you know better than to address your step mother with 'Gran'

"That's alright, no need to argue first thing in the morning." voice reached from the kitchen. Igneel was not content with Natsu's tone and he sighed waving head lightly while pinkette took fresh and still warm toast from plate.

"How are your studies progressing?"

"Good, I guess..."

"Have you completed all your assignments?"

"I don't need them." Natsu replied making Igneel fold papers, placing them on table by the plate, taking his cup with coffee.

"Of course you need them." Igneel added, taking a small sip "You should make sure you have high grades."

"Why? It's not like I'm gonna be some stick-in-the-mud professor." Natsu growled with exasperated voice "Even coach Elfman…"

"Coach Strauss" Igneel corrected him immediately, making Wendy giggle at the exchange they were having. She knew well that Natsu could never win against his father.

"… coach Strauss" Natsu continued through his gritted teeth "said that I am one of his best. Why do I need to know when World War started when I'm on the court?"

"Natsu, I am content to know that you have found your path but you should not leave rest of your education behind. Good grades will only be a benefit to you. Even more should you decide to change your path."

"I won't" Natsu shot immediately as Igneel finished speaking, making him frown at boy.

"Dear, let him be. He should decide what he wants to be" Silver haired woman walked out of the kitchen. She kissed Igneel on cheek, making him smile and sat on chair across Wendy.

"I'm gonna be late..." Natsu said grabbing one more piece of toast and took his jacket. He kissed Wendy one more time on top of her head and made his way out "See ya!"

"Have fun Natsu!" Wendy smiled at him.

Woman sighed and her obvious fall in spirit could be seen. Smile vanished and warm eyes were almost teary "He is never going to forgive me is he?"

"Give him time. He will come around." Igneel placed his hand on top of hers and her soft smile was present once more.

* * *

"Why does she even care about my future?" Natsu grumbled to himself as he took a bite from toast "I'll be what I want, no need for her to validate it. Crap…" he groaned loud "This day is going to be another long one. What do I have for today? English again, shit… There is history, basic economics, physics and finally practice. At least one won't be a complete murder and I'll have something to look forward to today without having the need to hang myself. Ooh right I got to find Lucy again. Hmmm... Maybe this day won't be a complete disaster after all..."

With his hastened pace, it didn't take him long to reach university gates that 'guarded' vast premises that this institution had. He smirked as he approached the gates noticing Gray standing.

"Morning 'flakes!" he winked as they bumped their fists and started moving toward building entrance.

"How about one day you actually call me by my name? Would be a nice start, wouldn't it firefart?"

"Hypocrisy, thy name is Gray. I am in great mood today so I'll give you that victory… 'Gray'."

"And what put you in such spectacular mood today?"

"I met this chick yesterday. Blond hair, big rack, kinda cute but minus points for being a nerd."

"Like you can recognize a nerd." Gray chuckled, making Natsu growl "But humor me, how could you tell she is a nerd?"

"It's like… 40 degrees outside and her shirt all buttoned up to her chin. If that doesn't scream _"I am daddy's good girl"_ then I don't know what does..."

"Maybe she is just decent enough to follow dressing code?"

"Dude..." Natsu folded his left hand into fist, bumping it lightly against Gray's chest "I can see your belly button."

"It's hot!" Gray answered quickly, though for him it was always hot. Not even winter was an obstacle for him to show a bit more skin than it was intended by dress code "Besides, you already managed to lull Jenny, why do you need this new girl?"

"Because she doesn't want me... yet." Natsu moved hand through his hair "She hasn't given herself to anyone or at least that's what Loke said. Probably virgin and mmmm what I wouldn't do to be that first guy."

"Natsu" Gray chuckled, placing hand to his shoulder "You're an asshole."

"No no, I'm hot asshole." Pinkette corrected him with smug smirk on his face "There's difference"

"Whatever man. Gotta go, see ya at the practice"

With that Natsu went to his first class of the day: English. It was one of the mandatory classes for everyone and Natsu referred to it as _"Kill me already"_. First bell rang and Natsu took a seat at the very back of the classroom, placing book on desk and waited for professor to come in. Though he appeared interested, it didn't take more than five minutes for him to lean his cheek against palm, disfiguring face into genuine expression of a zombie as Professor Justine conducted his lecture. It was easily predicted that those who Natsu called 'nerds' would take up front seats on classes. That being said, this was one class where being 'nerd' or 'cool' had nothing to do with it. Front rows were populated by girls only as they followed professor Justine's every move. Indeed, who wouldn't? Freed Justine is man in his mid-thirties with green hair and always in black suit. His every word was almost poetic, his grammar perfect and voice was a siren's song for girls and even few boys. Among all male professors, he is that one who would receive some sort of love letter on daily basis. His decency and immaculate nature forbade him from throwing them away and he would always take little bit of time from his schedule to read each and every one of the letters but never once did he respond to them. After all, even if he would be interested there were strict regulations that forbade teacher-student relationships. There was no regulation for relationship between teachers but he never once engaged in any form of flirt with female teachers. No one knew exactly why although there were many speculations.

"Alright class, can anyone tell me…." Professor started and after only those few words said, Natsu has already disconnected from the class. _Oh man he's gonna start again… Look at all the nerds raising their hands just so he can pick them. What do they see in this guy?_

"… and we add -ing at the end." one of the students answered the question that Natsu didn't even register... female voice. _Ughh give me a break._

"Very good miss Heartfilia." Professor responded and smiled, turning toward the board but Natsu snapped out of his trance. _Hold on, I remember that voice, where did that voice before?_

He raised his head a bit, looking around the class. Eyes wandered from one student to another until he spotted top of the head he was searching for. _Long blond hair, that's gotta be her. Lucy Heartfilia, not a bad name. Alright so she is in English class and she is sitting at the front. That's a start... Maybe she is one of those Professor Smooth's fangirls... Not like she's gonna get anywhere with him. Yep, definitely a nerd. Damn I can't get a better look at her from this angle…_

"Mister Dargneel!" Loud voice snapped Natsu from his thoughts.

"Hm? What?"

"I presume you know the answer since you are standing." Professor Justine looked at him with raised eyebrow and Natsu noticed that he is indeed standing.

"Umm… you add… i… ng?"

"Nice try. Sit down, please." Justine said and girls giggled, watching Natsu slowly sit down and blushing from embarrassment. Lucy merely glanced toward him but made no expression, she wasn't giggling, she wasn't smiling or frowning... her face was completely blank, uninterested and she turned head again, looking at her book.

_Well fuck..._

For the rest of the class his mind completely wrapped itself around this girl that was as cold as South Pole. _What is her deal? Everyone was laughing, not that I care but why didn't she at least threw a smile. Maybe she has boyfriend. Nah, if she does Loke would have known but then again Loke would do anything to get himself in front of me. Look at lil' miss perfect, yeah you just keep your nose into that book. You'll be burring that pretty face into pillows by the end of the week._

Bell rang, signaling the end of lecture and Natsu raised himself, snapping out his daydream and picking up his bag. If he was to start any kind of conversation, this would be the perfect moment and so he rushed over, moving between the crowd and stood beside her, managing to catch her just before she was to stand up and leave.

"I know your name is Lucy." He said as he leaned down toward her and spoke into her ear. She twitched a bit, moving her head away from him "Then why did you pester me yesterday?"

"Well I kinda wanted to hear it from you."

"Lucy. There now you can go." Lucy replied coldly and stood up, trying to move around him but he quickly stood in front of her and thus preventing her from escaping.

"Oh come one Luce, do you have to be like that?"

"Lucy!" she shot an ice-cold glare, correcting him.

"My version is kinda cuter."

"I don't care about your version." She said and moved away from him, avoiding him in wide arc.

"Why are you so cold toward me?" Natsu asked as he caught up with her :I just want to get to know you better."

"Funny. And here I don't want to know anything about you."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Natsu took a quick step and stood once more in front of her, once more making her stop in her track.

"That is none of your business."

"Come on if we are gonna have fun I gotta know about that stuff. It's kinda boring when you have sex with someone whom you don't know."

"We are not going to have sex!" she shouted pressing finger hard against his chest, right between the zipper of his jacket "Not now, not ever!"

"That's what you say now."

"Ughh!" she growled as she finally managed to move around him, slamming her shoulder against his as she passed.

"Oh come on Luce. Hey, Luce!" Natsu watched as her leave, deciding not to pursue her this time. He could easily catch up again but he felt that now there wouldn't be any point in attempting to soften her. Gray moved beside him, looking at his face and then direction where he was looking, spotting angry Lucy as she walked away.

"Let me guess, she won't budge."

"She will eventually." Natsu smirked, moving both hands through his hair. Despite the failed attempt, he felt oddly satisfied at his progress. Just yesterday she refused to even tell him her name and now, out of spite, annoyance or simply to get rid of him, she shared this information. Everything pointed out that it would be a slow process to get where he wants but in his opinion... those apples at the top of the tree were always most difficult to reach, but they were sweetest.

* * *

Lucy didn't share this philosophy that Natsu had. In fact, she was furious and the very memory of his voice was pushing her further toward the line where tolerance ends. But anger was not the only emotion she felt right now... no, there was a great deal of confusion in her. Questions lined, one after another... Why is he bothering her? He can have almost any girl on campus, so why did he fixate on her? Was she yet another notch for him? A conquest? She remembered why she loathed guys like him... right now, she loathed men in general.

Her mind was too preoccupied with all these questions and she didn't even notice where she was going anymore. She would most likely enter wrong classroom but fortunately her arm was tugged, making her snap out of her angry tantrum.

"Lu!" voice shouted and she looked toward blue haired girl that held her arm.

"Oh… hey Levy, sorry…" she sighed deeply as she noticed worried expression on Levy's face. Her hand moved few of strands of her hair, tucking them behind her ear.

"I've been calling your name for third time now , is everything alright?"

"Yeah it's… I'm fine, no need to worry." Lucy forced a smile but Levy knew how to recognize fake smile.

"Has someone been botherin' ya?" growling voice asked her from behind. She looked up and waved head toward Gajeel.

Blue haired girl that stopped Lucy is Levy McGarden, small, petite "nerd" with great affinity for books, currently holding a small club for students who loved reading. So far, she is Lucy's only close friend if there ever was one. The big towering man behind is Gajeel Redfox, yet another prodigy student who transferred from Phantom Lord after few 'disagreements' with his that made him lose a spot on the team to more cooperative students. His choice of sport, which actually granted him scholarship at Fairy Tail, is professional boxing and earned him nickname "Blackout steel" due to two things. First is popular belief that his knuckles are made of steel and though this was just a rumor no one argued that they feel like it . The other part of his nickname, Blackout, is due to his boxing record which was 25 fights, 23 victories and 2 draws. All of his victories were achieved with a knockout within first 5 rounds. Though Lucy hated men, Gajeel was one of extreme few exceptions and no small part in it was the fact he dated Levy. Other, minor part, was Gajeel's constant offers to help Lucy by 'knocking out' annoying pests... a thought she kept at back of her head.

"Just tell me the name, buns. I'll beat the livin' shit out of 'im" he growled like an angry lion.

"Thanks Gajeel. I really appreciate it but I'll deal with it on my own."

"Suit yaself" he shrugged lightly after few moments of thinking and offered her small grin as he moved around her, wrapping arms around Levy's chest which made her blush.

"Say, will you be coming tonight at the clubroom?" Levy asked her friend.

"No, I have a shift today so I'll pass." Lucy replied. She always loved coming to club activities that Levy held as it was one of few remaining activities that made her forget about her daily life and immerse herself into mesmerizing stories, written among the countless pages. "I have to go, I'll see you late."

Levy just smiled and nodded, watching her best friend walk away. The smile quickly vanished and change was noticed by her boyfriend"What's wrong?"

"I don't like seeing her go through all of this on her own." he placed her hand on top of his, moving fingertip in circles to caress it.

"Don't worry 'bout her, she's tough one."

"I know… but she is still alone in this..."


	3. Her day

**A/N: First thing you need to know is that events of this chapter are on same day as previous chapter. That being said, let's start with long rant!**

**I honestly hate myself having 3 stories open at the same time to write but on other hand I prefer to have juggle between them. Gives me more ideas for each story while I focus on another. This chapter was significantly heavy on me, not because I had hard time thinking what to write, no it was heavy because I honestly placed myself in Lucy's place trying to feel her pressure and my stomach turned. I am still not going to tell you why she feels like that or what is her drive, I guess you'll have to stick with me 'till the end. As always, let me know what you think about the chapter, I accept both good and bad critics equally. Thank you everyone in advance.**

* * *

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and looked at the alarm. Five more minutes until it starts ringing but it was never given that chance. Lately she has been waking up before the alarm and would watch the clock hand slowly move. How much she dreaded that moment, the prelude to hell and just before it would start ringing she would press the button and turn it off. There was this feeling, not more than a clench in her stomach but she knew… Lucy knew today would be one of those bad days. Her headache was acting up again as soon as she sat up but she had to endure. Morning shower did almost little to ease up this almost unnatural stress she felt in her chest.

"Keep it together Lucy, you know why you are doing this… you have no room to crack now…" she encouraged herself but it was more of acknowledgement of situation rather than motivation to go forward. Her hands moved through her wet hair. _Just five more minutes_ she thought… those five minutes meant the world for her before the hell of another day would start. Lately she wished it would last for a little longer... just five more minutes.

She left the shower and dried her hair. The relief was almost insignificant but it gave her a kick start. Once she left her bedroom, all dressed up and ready for another day at the university, she heard noise coming from downstairs. It was no mystery as to what caused and it was one of the few things that made her smile when she needed most.

"Oh, good morning Elizabeth" Lucy greeted as she walked down.

"Good morning dear" elderly woman smiled up at her "How are you feeling today?"

Lucy sighed slightly, swallowing rock inside her throat "I am fine but, regarding this month's pay… is there anyway I can delay it for a week?" she was visibly nervous, looking away in guilt "I found new job but it's not gonna-"

"Dear, I told you not to worry about it" she smiled warmly, embracing Lucy who rushed over and hugged her.

"Thank you… you have no idea how much your help means to me"

"You just focus on your school, I'll take care of the rest"

Lucy pulled herself away, her cheeks were still blushing from her guilt but at least she felt a small bit of relief "I'll be back late today." Lucy said and quickly rushed out, trying to grab every extra minute possible.

"Wait, your breakfast…" woman sighed as she watched Lucy rush out "She left without it again, poor child… I do not envy you."

The first stroke of luck was that there was little traffic this morning and sidewalks were mostly empty. At very least she will be there early and avoid any kind of unwanted encountered. As soon as she entered her classroom she sat down at one of the front seats. _Made it in time… ok calm down now, deep breath_ she inhaled deeply, holding it for few seconds before exhaling. Lucy repeated this process few times and Professor Justine walked inside. _Ok I already finished all assignments, project is almost complete… hope Alissa has done her part. I just need few more activities and I'll have that subject out of my list._

The class went as she expected, knowing she did well on 'being active' part. Though it didn't have great impact on final grade, professor Justine valued active students highly and was rather helpful toward them and that meant that she can spent a little less time studying that subject and focus on those that would require more time on other exams. As soon as bell rang, she knew that other part of the problem will come... same guy from yesterday. She took deep breath again and looked around, observing other students _Does he have same classes as me? Maybe he forgot about it._

_Of course he would pester me. _She thought to herself as she walked toward other classroom_._ _Wait, what if Levy saw me and him?_ _Oh God, what if she thinks I like him? Wait, why am I worrying about this? Levy knows my situation. She knows I hate guys like him._

Second class was sociology and it was one of those classes she disliked. Silver lining was the fact that it was easier to get higher grade and with grades came valuable points she needed most right now.

"Hey Lucy" girl's voice reached Lucy and she snapped out of her train of thoughts, looking toward the girl that was standing next to her.

"Hey Alissa" Lucy smiled at her. Alissa was another blonde like her although she dyed her rather than being natural blonde. Fairy Tail attracted those students too... students whose parents could afford the expenses of tuition and passing grades were sufficient to find a decent job without much searching. With enough make up to fit shovel and cleavage that was counter-proportional to the amount of grey cells in her head... she would probably find job within days. It was indeed a travesty of modern society, one that Lucy knew all too well but still refused to fall down to that level. Another cruelty was just how big of a hypocrite she had to be sometimes just so she could pay for all expenses that came with living independently.

"I know I promised but I totally forgot about our project." she had her low squealing voice, one that only she believed it had effect "I have to visit my grandparents this weekend, can you help me out a bit and do my part? I would help out but my grandma is sick."

"Oh, sure" Lucy nodded "Hope she gets better soon"

"Thanks a ton, you're the best!"

_Of course I am… She doesn't even have the decency to tell the truth. Sick grandma, yeah right and that same grandma is going to turn up on Facebook half-drunk and without a shirt. _

Lucy sighed, leaning her face down into her hands, rubbing it. Same story every time. Everyone wants to pick Lucy for their partner just so she can do everything and have both names signed at the end of it. She would have rejected her but at this point but considering that Alissa's tongue is longer than her leg, it is more likely that she would spread some false gossip about Lucy and only thing that would bother her is that she wouldn't have anyone to be partner with on projects and if she doesn't have anyone, there are no points which means it is harder to get higher grade. _Endure Lucy… just endure a little bit more _was all she could tell herself.

Sociology was almost excruciating. Though professor was clear with definitions and examples, Lucy still had difficulty fully comprehending them. She constantly wrote down notes and she knew that she would have to re-read them again and again until it sinks in. Problem was just how many times she had to repeat that process and it always costed valuable time. She was just about to exit the classroom but almost bumped into a silver-haired woman.

"Excuse me." Lucy apologized for almost ramming into her but she didn't seem to mind.

"You are Lucy, correct?" Mira asked and Lucy nodded, now a little worried. She doesn't look like student. Black blazer, miniskirt and high-heeled shoes were all the clues Lucy needed to deduce that it is one of University's staff "Please come with me." She said with smile and without any objections, Lucy followed her toward the offices. Once they arrived at the office of rector, Mira knocked twice and opened the door.

"Rector is waiting for you"

"Thank you" Lucy said and entered. The room was large, walls decorated with various diplomas, pictures of most successful students and even few of rector's own accomplishments throughout his life, both as student and professor. At the desk were two people, one behind was a short elderly man in dark purple suit whose smile was warm while other she recognized as professor Justine. She approached and bowed toward both of them and they returned the courtesy.

"You wanted to see me, rector Makarov?"

"Yes, please sit child." He pointed politely toward the chair beside Freed who had his leg crossed, leaning against the chair "We need to discuss about your scholarship."

"Is there a problem?" she asked, now worried to point it was easy to see

"I am afraid your current achievements are no longer sufficient for you to maintain the status." Makarov let out a soft hum as he went over papers, occasionally looking at her. Her face went pale as she clenched her hands together, feeling blood leave both her hands and her feet. Every time she would exhale air from her lungs it would catch in her throat, giving her the slight feeling of being choked.

"N…n…no longer s…sufficient?" Lucy stuttered.

"Indeed" he nodded and spoke in low tone.

"But sir I cannot afford to pay for the tuition." she stuttered, her voice was shaking "I have-"

"I am aware of your situation my dear…" he interrupted her, placing glasses on as he continued reading "If it was for anyone else we would have canceled the status… it is not fair to give anyone privileged status over others."

Thunder struck her very center of body, her heart stopped beating for a second as cold sweat slowly formed on her forehead. The thought of having to pay high tuition was as heavy as earth itself… Lucy knew well that cannot afford it and would most likely have to quit studies.

"That being said…" Makarov started again "We also understand the effort you put into your studies. Which is why Professor Justine is here to consult me about your… shall we say _case_?"

"Miss Heartfilia's attendance is flawless and as you have put well, she is progressing well in her studies. I had time inspect her record so far and I would like to say she has a lot of promise… save for the circumstance."

"Mmm yes" Makarov moved finger through his moustaches "It is hard to debate when one of my best professor puts such high praise for you. The margin is indeed small, your grades are high however scholarship requires sufficient amount of points. Right now, we are trying to find a way to help a child that is one of us and even if you receive highest grades on all remaining exams, you will still be few points short."

Throughout explanation, though vaguely aware of what Makarov was saying, Lucy felt as if her entire world was shattering. The plan she had from the start has began tearing itself and she was few minutes away from passing out.

"Have you picked extracurricular activity?" Makarov asked as he looked at her.

"N… no, sir…" she swallowed hard again, this time both professors could hear the soft sound of it.

"Why don't you join my drama club?" Freed turned his head toward her and then toward Makarov "If she performs well, she could receive extra 5 points. Would that be sufficient?"

"It would" Makarov nodded "Barely but it would be enough to maintain her scholarship."

"Then it is settled" Freed smiled softly toward her, making her look at him, wide eyed and completely baffled "Drama club on Wednesday and Friday. Your record shows that you have shown affinity toward literature so you will be able to adjust without any problems."

Her face suddenly lit up, she had no idea how could she fit in everything but if she could avoid paying tuition she would do all she was asked and ten times over. She suddenly stood up and bowed low toward both of them.

"Thank you very much rector, Professor" she smiled again feeling the surge of relief wash over her.

"We are doing all we can to look after our children." Makarov smiled warmly at her and Freed nodded in agreement. She bowed again and left his office.

"She is strong. Most wouldn't endure." Freed remarked

"You've read her record?"

"Indeed. Full studies, picked maximum amount of classes, extra classes and her friends say she is also working. Several jobs in fact."

"Hmmmm… Isn't she daughter of Jude Heartfilia? I am surprised she needs scholarship." Freed moved strand of hair from his face looking away from Makarov

"It's complicated."

* * *

Lucy was almost skipping as she walked back. The day started with a bad feeling but this changed every negative thought she had since this morning. She would need to work extra hard now, even more considering that time she usually spent studying would now be spent being at drama club. Like it or not, she had no choice. All she needed to do is to gather strength and push forward, but right now, she was just in time to attend next lecture. Physics is next and this was a class she had most troubles with. Natural sciences were never her strong side and she calculated that she only needed passing grade from Professor Clive to keep scholarship.

She sat at the middle of amphitheater, taking out textbook and pen and before long man in light brown hair, neatly combed and oiled wearing dark brown suit entered.

"Good afternoon class" Gildarts spoke as he looked toward students. He took chalk and immediately started creating graph on the board.

Lucy frowned slightly, she barely understood this but before she could actually begin to ponder about this "alien contraption" she felt a blow of air on her left ear.

"Hey Luce" Natsu whispered silently.

"You!" she whispered back turning head "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? This is my class too." he chuckled "I didn't know you have interest in physics"

"Leave me alone!" she whispered again, clenching her teeth.

"You know if I pass this class I can calculate how your boobs are holding up so perfectly." He teased her, taking bit of her hair to play with.

"What?!" she turned her head, moving her hair with hand away from his grasp.

"They completely defy gravity." he leaned forward again, this time trying to peek over her shoulder but she moved it in a way for him to not see down her shirt

"Please leave me alone."

"I will if you go out with me."

"No!" she said in tone that was no longer whisper and even made few heads around them turn.

"Excuse me!" Loud voice interrupted them and they both looked toward source of it "I suppose you know which are four fundamental forces of nature, mister Dragneel?"

"Ummm… wind, earthquake, tidal waves and… volcano?" Natsu said with complete blank face making entire class laugh while Lucy covered her face in complete embarrassment.

"That is by far the stupidest thing I have heard." Gildarts waved his head "Perhaps miss Heartfilia can correct you?" she looked up as she heard her name

"U..umm…" she took deep breath to calm herself "S…strong, electromagnetic, weak and gravity."

"That is correct" professor now looked toward Natsu "You might learn something if you listen to her mister Dragneel. No more talking during my class, understood?"

Lucy sighed in relief. That was too close. It is bad enough she barely understands physics but now this idiot is going to make it even harder. _Great, just great._

"So, is it gravity?" he whispered again.

"What?"

"Is it gravity that keeps your boobs up?"

"No you idiot, gravity is force that pulls you down, not up!" she turned head again, noticing that he still has the same smug grin _Wait, why am I correcting him?_

"Oh so they have gravity... huh..."

"What gravity?" she checked to see if professor Clive is looking their way and once she ensured he is turned toward the board she turned head back at Natsu

"Well they are so big, my eyes are constantly pulled toward them"

"Can you do me a favor?" she grinned at him.

"Anything for you sweetie."

"Please go somewhere and die." And with that she turned her head again, looking forward. Natsu was left pouting at her decision to ignore him until the end of class despite his constant poking with finger on her back and sides. _This day is going to be hell after all_ she thought.

Bell rang and she immediately rushed out of the classroom, trying to find a single moment away from him however that had no effect as he quickly caught up to her. _Why is this happening to me_ question swirled inside her head.

"So what are you doing this weekend?" Natsu asked.

"Not talking to you."

"You just said something to me so you are talking to me."

"No, I mean I will be doing that on weekend. Not. Talking. To. You. Now leave me alone."

"Oh come on, just go out with me once. You might like it."

"I'll pass." She shot back at him in rather annoyed tone

"Why are so cold toward me?" Natsu chuckled, trying to take her bag in order to carry but her firm grip prevented him from doing that.

"You want to know why?" she suddenly stopped, turning toward him "Don't take this the wrong way but… you are an asshole."

"How do you know I am one? Maybe I'm nicest guy in school." Natsu leaned toward her but as he was leaning she took a step back, once again creating the distance between them.

"How do I know?" Lucy asked, pushing edge of book against his chest "You are Natsu Dragneel, you play for University's football team as quarterback, there has never been one full week when you haven't had a girl under your arm. You are arrogant, narcissistic, you don't care about other people's feelings and I am not going to allow myself to fall so low and become your weekend girl!" she frowned at him. He was left speechless for few seconds but finally she snapped and grinned.

"You keep track of me? That's so sweet." he made the 'sweet-face' and pursed his lips "That sounds almost like being a fan-girl... How about you give me one chance and I'll prove to you that I am not all that you just said about me."

"Natsu, understand this..." she spoke through her clenched teeth "It is never going to happen!"

"Well that just makes me want to have you even more." Natsu licked his lips as he watched her go away, she didn't hear this last thing or saw that he mouthed 'Wow' as he eyed her behind.

Classes passed, one bell after another and finally came the much expected practice. Natsu placed his jersey on and helmet, rushing out to the field along with rest of the players. Elfman was in good mood today and it was shown with him going easy on them which was expressed having only 20 laps for warm up.

"Think someone got some last nigh.t" Natsu nudged Gray and pointed toward smiling coach.

"We're gonna pay for that..." Gray panted a bit as he finished running across the entire field. Indeed he was smiling from ear to ear and one could even hear him say 'Good work'. In his case, it was never a good thing "Any luck with that Lucy chick?"

"Still nothing. I tell you, this girl is gonna be my Everest!" Natsu took few steps back, straightening himself.

"Then you might wanna ask one of her friends" Gray took a deep breath and looked around. Before long they all took formation. Gray and Natsu stood one across another, grinning wide as they once again had the chance to see who is better. Single whistle was heard and lines collided, Natsu started running with the ball. He was fast, nearly impossible to catch and just as it was obvious that he would make full run, Gray managed to appear almost out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground. The impact was hard and Natsu groaned painfully

"Fuck, Gray! Get off me!" he coughed after one more painful groan.

"Then pay attention." Gray gloated as he stood up and took ball from Natsu "See who is hanging out with her and ask her about Lucy. That's your best way of learning about gilr." He offered his hand and Natsu pushed his hand away, standing up on his own.

"Think I saw her with that blue haired girl… what was her name… Livy, Lici, Luck, Liny..."

"No idea, will catch her up tomorrow" Natsu held his side, wincing as he touched one particular place.

"Alright, that's it for today, hit the showers!" Eflman said after he blew the whistle and entire team slowly left the field. Natsu took off his jersey and let the steamy hot water run down on him as they entered showers, Gray on the other hand was content with cold one. Natsu's hand went over to his side, checking the blue mark that appeared.

"Your work" Natsu frowned and pointed, making Gray look at the rather large bruise.

"Oh yeah, looks good on you. Next time I'll go a bit more center and to the south." Gray laughed and started washing his hair.

"Eat a dick, ice-brain."

"So why are you so interested in this Lucy? I thought you liked more accessible girls and she looks like one of the textbook nerds."

"It's not about her being a nerd." Natsu took soap and rubbed over his chest "It's matter of principle… and a bet."

"What bet?" Gray asked, looking over at Natsu.

"I told Loke that before this week ends I'll have sex with her. If I win, I get round at Sabertooth and if I lose I buy the round."

"She already turned you down, twice…"

"By the end of the week I'll have you all acknowledge the true king!"

* * *

**A/N: I also had fun implementing characters into this story and giving them roles. I found that Freed suits best as English teacher along with drama or poetry extracurricular class, he was no-brainer but finding suitable teacher for physics? Who else is better than man who can deconstruct anything? I had a bit hard time seeing Gildarts in role of professor but damn sure I will try portraying him. I think the most fun I will have bringing Ingeel's character into place I want to experiment how far I can push him into father figure and of course Grandeeney as step-mother figure. There is going to be some family turmoil but if you ever wonder how I envisioned Igneel... well... In my head he looks a lot like Van Hohenheim from Fullmetal alchemist only with red hair and beard and slightly different facial structure and a bit darker skin tone. That is what first came to my mind when I thought about Igneel in human form**

**Also there is the voice issue. It had to be deep, booming, growly voice, a bit intimidating but has that level of warmth and kindness. I am going to dedicate entire chapter around Igneel at one point but for now, I guess you are more interested about what is this secret that Lucy has... well... the secret is**


	4. Everywhere I look

**A/N: I want to say I enjoy making Natsu into bad guy but that is actually harder than I thought it would be. I have big plans for this story with a lot of plots and a lot of interesting complications but for the moment I am trying to find good resolution to the introducing section of the story. To put it simple, dude is annoying! Still I do like bringing this to life and I am looking forward to your comments on this chapter. Thank you very much in advance!**

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Alarm sounded off, making the ever tired Natsu attempt to reach and shut it down. Few misses later he finally managed to find tiny button for the alarm… He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stood up. Best get downstairs before father walks up and he was really not in the mood another session of being yelled at.

He marched slowly into the bathroom for a shower, dragging his feet and leaving a trail of clothes that he removed, it was obvious to anyone that this is not a morning person, although it could be the due to the fact that he only had four hours of sleep last night.

Shower did its best to wake up pink-haired student and as he dried himself, Natsu walked back into his room, taking uniform from the hanger and placing them on. Just before he could take jacket he took a glance at the mirror, inspecting himself. Right arm moved up and flexed muscle, head tilted and shook from side to side as if trying to catch good profile of himself. Finally his hand moved over his cheek rubbing gently down to chin, grinning slightly as he did so.

"Well I don't wanna sell myself short but I am hot" he was obviously pleased with what he saw in the mirror although that didn't answer question why did this Lucy girl avoided him so much.

Knock was heard on his door and he looked toward it, it could either be his father or Wendy. Grandeeney avoided knocking on his room as of recent.

"Natsu-nii, are you awake?" Wendy spoke removing any doubt in his head

"I'll be right down!"

He grabbed jacket and his bag and moved out of his room and down the stairs. As with every morning table was already set and everyone was already sitting at the table. Wendy was always silent one, cheerful but wasn't one to chat during breakfast while Igneel was talking to his wife.

"Good morning, Natsu" Igneel was first to speak to him as he sat down at the table

"Morning dad, Wendy, Gran…" his tone was practically overflowed with boredom

"Natsu, tone" Igneel corrected while Natsu simply rolled his eyes "do you have practice today?"

"Nah, today is day off"

"Does that mean you'll be home earlier today?" Wendy looked at him with bright eyes

Natsu took a moment to think, indeed with no practice he could come home early and have nothing to do. Far from that he didn't have assignments or projects but he cared little about them.

_Why do I need history or art anyway? Not like I'll actually be told to draw something_

He could also go and bother Gray at dorm which seemed like pretty good idea at the moment, assuming he is not with Juvia trying to figure out content of her mouth with his tongue.

"I'll come earlier but…"

"You can help Wendy with her homework them" Igneel quickly interrupted, knowing where his _but_ can lead. Natsu darted his look toward his father, an angry glare but he was no match for dark-red haired lawyer. He ate such glares on daily basis with his coffee and he was completely unphased.

"Yeah, I'll come and help you" he grinned slightly at Wendy who immediately flashed bright smile at him. He was never the one to refuse her and Grandeeney was pleased because of this to point where she didn't hide it however Natsu simply didn't pay attention to her... his memory was still fresh. Soon it was time for him to depart and he took his bag and jacket, leaving the Dragneel house and made his way toward Fairy Tail.

"Ready to go?" Natsu asked as he approached Gray who again stood by the gates of Fairy Tail. They both greeted each other. Gray took his own bag from the ground and followed him.

"You know it" His hand instinctively moved up, pulling tie to be a bit loose "Got plans for tonight?"

"Nah" Natsu remembered that he was to help Wendy but that he could do fast, her homework and assignments were not difficult so he should have entire evening free

"We are gonna hit Sabertooth tonight, you in?"

"Fuck yeah! I need a good unwind" Natsu grinned wide as he stretched himself, still feeling slightly sleepy

"Unwind?" Gray looked at him "Still no luck with Lucy?"

"She is holding strong but it's only third day, she will get a bit easier to handle once she gets used to me"

"Man you are fixated on her" he chuckled greeting few students along the path and Natsu did the same. They were both popular in the college though Natsu was more focused on greeting girls "you do realize you will have it easier to just go along with any other girl?"

"What can I say, I am a gift" Natsu moved hand through his pink hair being as cocky as he can ever be "But this girl is special… I can feel it"

Natsu licked his lips as images of Lucy filled his head "Don't look at me like that, just 'cause you got yourself married doesn't mean everyone else should"

Gray chuckled his words "First, I am not married and second, excuse me for actually having a meaningful relationship that lasts more than one weekend"

"Dude!" he turned toward Gray, walking sideways to follow his steps "She got you wrapped around her finger, get out of there!"

"Shut up!" Gray smacked Natsu's shoulder with fist making the later chuckle and turn. They moved inside the main building

* * *

"That's two classes down three to go" Natsu exclaimed, leaning against his locker having the expression that was a mix between boredom and dying.

"Yea well what did you expect when you entered college?" Gray opened his locker. Unlike Natsu's where everything was just thrown inside hoping it wouldn't fall down, Gray kept it well organized, stacking books and notebooks neatly and on the far end of the wall there was image of him and Juvia that they took at amusement park. He smiled softly as he looked at it remembering that day.

"More babes less books" Natsu moved zipper of his jacket up and down "Hey 'flakes, look"

Gray looked where Natsu was pointing, not far from them was Levy opening her locker. He tilt his head slightly to the right as he took time to observe this short, blue haired girl. Her uniform was neat, buttoned up unlike most girls who had few buttons open due to heat.

"Really? Come on man at least have decency to stick at one girl at the time…"

"No no no" Natsu quickly interrupted him frowning slightly as if trying to remember something important "Isn't that the girl that Lucy was talking with?"

"Probably, looks like her, blue hair, glasses…" Gray thought it was her, from this angle he couldn't be sure but at least he could recognize blue hair and short figure

"I'm gonna introduce myself"

Gray couldn't do much at this point except to sigh and mind his own business. _Really don't see why girls fall for him anymore_ he thought to himself and just as he was about to head to next class he noticed someone stand beside him

"So, what's flame-boy doing now?

"Hey Lok" Gray greeted him and looked toward his right. Loke couldn't see clearly whom Natsu was speaking with since his back completely covered her petite figure "I don't know, probably trying to get her number or something" It slipped out of his mind that Loke just came and that _her_ was referring to Lucy.

Natsu moved a bit, having the smug smile on his face as he was talking to Levy who obviously felt a bit uncomfortable. Loke's gaze that was wandering toward passing college students up until this point finally reached the pair in question and his eyes widened

"Shit, hold this for me!" He quickly passed Gray his bag, who barely managed to grab it without falling, and moved quickly toward Natsu "Idiot is going to get himself killed…"

A couple of seconds later he came beside Natsu, hugging him over his shoulder. Natsu was surprised by his action but instead of any explanation, Loke just smiled toward Levy who returned the smile to him

"Hey Levy" he smiled wide "don't worry about lava-brain he's just a little bit… he's fine"

"Hey Loke" she chuckled, feeling a bit more at ease at the orange-haired friend of hers "we were just talking about Lucy"

"Really? That's great, we'll get out of your hair, thanks" Loke pulled Natsu along with him, the sheer force was too much for him to protest and he walked along

"The fuck was that Loke?!" Natsu tried to wiggle himself out of his grasp

"You want to die?" he released him as they reached Gray and took bag back "You know who her boyfriend is?"

"She has a boyfriend?" Natsu made a sour look and glanced back to Levy "I never would have guessed"

"Gajeel" the very mention of the name made both Gray and Natsu shiver "And he is extremely jealous kind of guy, for your own sake-"

"Dude, shut the fuck up, I wasn't flirting with her, jeez..."

"He wasn't either and he got himself into the hospital..." Loke took off his glasses and rubbed his face "Give me your phone"

"What?"

"Your phone" Loke repeated and Natsu took it out which former took and started tapping on it. After several seconds he returned it to him and pinkette looked at the screen then back at Loke "That's her number, you never got it from me, don't call after 10 in the evening"

"Why are you helping me?" Natsu grinned wide as he looked at the screen content as he was reading numbers in his mind "You dared me to do this you know"

"First of all, you dared yourself, I just made it slightly more interesting and as for reasons... let's just say I have them but I will be keeping them for myself, thank you" Loke placed glasses back on and turned, walking toward the classroom

Natsu threw another glance toward Levy "Man how do you think they have sex? He must be destroying her"

"She doesn't look destroyed to me" Gray smacked back of Natsu's head "Come on sparks, we got physics"

* * *

"Well that was odd" Levy said as she watched from the corner of her eye at the trio that walked away

"What was odd?" voice came from behind her making Levy jump a bit and she turned, greeting Lucy with a smile

"Oh nothing Loke doing his usual"

"Oh… him…" the voice of Lucy was low and with slight disgust "what did _he_ want?"

"I don't know but he was with someone" Lucy's eyebrow was lifted as she was interested who this _someone_ could be "he was asking about you"

Lucy now knew exactly who this _someone_ is and what he was asking about

"Don't worry I said nothing" Levy winked at her, making her feel slight rush of relief

"Lucy" another voice came close to them "I heard you are joining drama club"

"Hello Juvia and yes, I need extra points to keep scholarship so Professor Justine picked this up for me"

"I think you will fit in perfectly" Juvia smiled wide at Lucy and Levy nodded quickly

The blue haired girl who just walked in next to Levy and Lucy is Juvia, yet another prodigy of Fairy Tail who got transferred one year prior to these events. She is currently captain of the swimming club and member of cheer-leading squad, though the later she wasn't interested in until she found the "love of her life" is playing for the university. Loyal, protective, always jealous and at times slightly paranoid, especially when her 'darling Gray' in in question however despite her jealous remarks and tendencies to see everyone as her personal love rival, she quickly befriended Lucy. Other than Levy, she is only female student in entire university who is aware of Lucy's personal life.

"Ooooh how I wish I could be in a play" Levy daydreamed, swooning "I would love to be Juliet and have my Romeo sing sweet words under balcony…"

Lucy chuckled as she observed Levy "Well maybe beauty and the beast would be better suited?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" She puffed up her cheeks as Lucy and Juvia exchanged a glance among each other

"Well… it's not that you wouldn't be good Juliet…" Lucy started

"It's just hard to imagine Gajeel as Romeo…" Juvia finished Lucy's sentence, making the tiny bluenette frown at them both"

"I mean can you imagine him in a lead role?" Juvia took a pose, clenching both hands to her chest "Oh Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo" her pose changed and she now folded her arms frowning heavily "And who am I supposed to be dumbass?!"

All three of them laughed it, even Levy who was pouting at this remark couldn't but agree that Gajeel, though kind and loving toward her, is not exactly a person most fit for poetry, though he did still try. The image of Gajeel playing as Romeo was too much for any of them to bear without bursting into laugh.

Lucy felt slightly felt at ease, these small moments were keeping her sanity in check and most of her day went calm, a blessing in form of a peace when Natsu wasn't around. She had forgotten how to enjoy the life of a student, the thought of having to spend more time with friends occurred but with situation at hand she knew that it would be near impossible to achieve. The blessing of peace was in fact short lived

Drama class finally came and Lucy sat at the back, waiting for professor to show up. She was uncertain, scared even of what would be required of her to achieve in order to obtain those precious points she needed most. There was no doubt in her mind that she would need to bring the best of her skills, after all, it isn't called "Drama club" for nothing.

The train of thoughts was interrupted as she felt the tap on her shoulder and turned to see who tapped her. She sighed and turned forward again letting out a small growl

"Hey, fancy meetin' ya here" Natsu grinned wide as he leaned forward

"Why are you here?" Lucy spoke through her teeth

"I joined drama class"

"No, you didn't" she turned head again to look at him "you just came to annoy me"

"No, but you seem to care suddenly" he winked making her roll eyes and look forward after "So… if you are Juliet can I be your Romeo?"

"Of course"

"Really?" his expression suddenly brightened

"Yes. But do bear in mind they both die at the end so I think it is very fitting" she chuckled to herself

"Good afternoon" Professor Justine walked in, causing another small wave of sighs that are forever to be left as unrequited crush. He was as impeccable as ever, wearing gray suit and carrying few books in his hand. His steps led him to the middle of classroom "As with every Wednesday we shall discuss the poetry and I hope you have your quotes ready for Friday along with presentation of you understanding its meaning. Let us begin"

The class was surprisingly interesting for Lucy, she found that this kind of class, the discussion of poetry was easy for her to understand but more than that, she felt that it sparked her interest. Natsu on the other hand had extreme difficulty understanding the "Shakaspearian language" that Hamlet spoke through mouth of professor Justine. It didn't take long until the sudden urge to yawn appeared and his interested was now yet again focused on blonde

"Ok maybe not Romeo…" he broke the small silence between him and Lucy "Maybe I can be your secret lover between scenes"

"You can be a tree, there is a big role for talking tree" _why am even conversing with him? _She thought for herself

"There is a talking tree?" Natsu leaned slightly more forward "This play is awesome, I should join this club"

"Excuse me, mister Dragneel?"

"Yes sir?" Natsu moved his head and sat up straight to face professor

"I do not recall you being in this class, have you come to join us or just to disrupt my work?"

"Actually professor, I am very interested to join" Natsu exclaimed while Lucy's jaw dropped. She will have no peace it seems

"I am genuinely surprised" Freed said, offering nothing more than a slight grin toward him "I was under the impression that you were uninterested in the art of words but I am more than willing to admit my mistake"

Lucy closed her mouth and faced forward again, burying her face into her hands _Oh Mavis this is nightmare, please let this be just a nightmare _

"You do realize there is no talking tree, right?" Natsu leaned forward as Professor was yet again taken in by his own spoken words of poet "Are you just trying to get rid of me?"

"Alright so your brain isn't as tiny as I thought" Lucy looked toward him "But that doesn't mean you can pester me every minute you get"

"I am just pointing out that you are misjudging me"

"No, I am not misjudging you" Lucy whispered with a hiss "You gave me no reason to believe you are nice guy!"

"Then give me a chance to prove you wrong" Natsu moved his hand to braid her hair but Lucy quickly moved her hand and collected her hair, placing it over her left shoulder out of his reach and he chuckled

"Mister Dragneel" Freed interrupted their hushed dialogue again "Though I am ecstatic that you decided to grace us with your presence, I am still urging you to pay attention"

"Sorry sir…"

...

The class ended bell rang but before everyone could stand up and leave, Freed spoke

"Next time I have your quotes ready. Miss Heartfilia, since you are new, why don't you start with works of W.B Yeats"

"Oh, of course sir but-" she started but was quickly interrupted

"University library has all editions of his work, you need not to worry if you can find it"he smiled and she nodded

"As for the next week, we will be discussing the annual school play that is coming and we have much to decide and practice. Please bear that in mind. Class dismissed"

As he finished everyone stood up and bowed before making way out. Lucy tried to do the same however Natsu following her closely and his closeness was making her uncomfortable. The thought that she might follow her to her home disgusted her but there was at least bit of luck as Freed stopped Natsu from getting out in order to fill out form for joining class if he wishes to attend it. These few minutes gave Lucy time to escape his stalking session.

Giving final signature, Natsu bowed slightly and went through the door in rush. He looked around but failed to see her anywhere on hallway and slight disappointment came over him but he took out phone and looked through contacts... grin again appeared on his face.

"Guess someone is going to get a late night call"


	5. Strange places we meet at

**A/N: Alright this is going to be long one but I read it, double read it and I found no scene to be left out. All of this is relevant in my head for future events and yes, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you all like it so please let me know what you think about it.**

* * *

Lucy took her phone and looked at the screen noticing unread mail. She moved finger over the screen and opened it, having to see number not saved in her contacts and with message saying "Guess who". She raised her eyebrow and felt light shiver on her skin _Oh God I hope it's not him_ she sighed and closed eyes. How did he even got her number? Who would give it to her? Lucy felt the urge to call him right now and yell into his ear or perhaps call the police and have them deal with the stalking creep however before her finger could make any of that happen she heard a knock on her door.

Her steps were light as she went down the stairs and stood by the wooden door. Heart skipped _what if it's Natsu_? He couldn't know where she lived but if indeed it was him on the phone then there is definitely a chance he is knocking on her door, but then question would be how did he know where she lives? She stood, not wanting to open the door yet but knock was heard again and her stomach clenched lightly.

"Lu? Are you home?" voice came from the other side of the door and Lucy let out a giant sigh of relief as she recognized Levy. She unlocked the door and opened them, having to see Levy beam up a big smile

"Oh thank God…" Lucy said quietly as Levy went over to her and hugged her tight. She returned the hug and looked over her shoulder at Gajeel who just waved slightly holding some bag in other hand "Come in"

Both of them walked inside and she closed the door, locking them. They were wearing casual clothes which in Levy's case consisted of white shirt and skirt as blue as her hair while Gajeel was in black jeans and just as black sleeveless shirt with leather jacket on top. He was not bothered the least by outside's temperature which made a lot of guys question if he really is human.

"What's up Lulu? You seem a bit tense" Levy said, bobbing her head slightly, showing concern on face while Gajeel's look wandered around

"No, just… I think I'm getting a bit paranoid lately…"

"Is it about that punk?" Gajeel asked as he smirked "I can still beat the crap out of him. Owe him that much"

"No no… wait, you owe him?"

"Yeah" Gajeel's smirk disappeared and suddenly the murdering gaze appeared "Jet saw 'im hitting on Levy while I wasn't looking"

"I told you for the… 17th time" Levy budged into this conversation having a tint of exasperation in her voice "He wasn't hitting on me, we were just talking"

"That counts as flirting in my book!" Gajeel interjected, crossing arms

"Everything is flirting in your book!" Levy shouted at him, her cheeks were receiving a slight color of pink. Sure she protested when Gajeel threatened everyone but she also loved the fact that he is overprotective when it comes to her… it made her feel special.

"Hey I don't want anyone flirting with my woman but me!" Gajeel looked down at her, she was pursing her lips and her cheeks instead of pink received a lovely shade of red at the mention of _my woman._

"You two sound like you are already married" Lucy chuckled observing the couple in their lover's spat

"We are not married!" they both said in unison, making Lucy rather amazed that they pulled it off. It was clear to Lucy that as much as they love each other they are not exactly adept at expressing it in public, which then again made her wonder how was their se… _Stop it Lucy!_ She shook her head lightly, trying to clear it before image of Gajeel and Levy having sex could occur in her head.

"Anyway" Levy cleared her throat, averting the subject as she looked away from Gajeel who, at this point, was as red as her "You told me you quit the job at the restaurant"

"Well not as much quit as I was… fired" Lucy sighed, dropping her shoulders. She indeed worked at the restaurant as waitress with solid pay and good clientele however manager had to "cut the extra expense" and that consisted of Lucy and another waitress.

"Well, we found you another" Levy raised both hands up in excitement

"Really?" Lucy's face suddenly lit up and Gajeel nodded before giving her a small bag that he carried with him "Me and my band play there during weekends. One of their waitresses is sick so I spoke with manager and got you the temporary spot. Old… acquaintance, so to speak"

Lucy took the bag, inspecting the logo of it, recognizing origin of it and curiously she looked inside, picking out articles of clothing. She was glad to have another job but when she looked at "work clothes" she let out a hum, not so much of a shock as she was a bit uncomfortable just by looking at them.

"Yea I know what yer gonna say" Gajeel started crossing arms, having Lucy to look at him again "Ain't exactly secretary to Council but the pay is decent and you get all the tips you earn"

"No no no, I am really happy" she smiled, genuinely happy "I don't care what I'm going to wear as long as it pays. Thank you very much, Gajeel" Lucy moved toward him and hugged, having only to reach to about his chest. He was a bit struck at the moment but after a glance toward Levy and noticing her smile he returned the hug, lightly tapping on her back. That is as far as Gajeel's sentiments can go.

"Hey no sweat, any friend of shrimp is friend of mine" He grinned and looked at Levy again who puffed her cheeks and furrowed her brows "Wha?"

"I am not _that_ short!"

"Hey you need a boost just to reach your own kitchen cabinet! I call that short" Gajeel smirked, Lucy released him from the hug and looked at the clothes again, although not completely pleased she has to wear this she couldn't complain, it is going to pay for her food and rent

"By the way, your shift starts in two hours" Gajeel said, looking away from the tiny fury that was building up beside him

"Two hours?" Lucy asked a little surprised by these words "But I don't…"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of things while you go" Levy interrupted her "I don't have anything else to do so you can go and adjust schedule for next time"

"Alright, thank you so much" Lucy moved and hugged Levy this time, receiving far better reaction than she did from Gajeel and little bluenette giggled and hugged her back tight "Besides, you'll do great and I think those clothes are made for you"

"You think?" Lucy moved away from her few steps and looked with concerning look "I don't know, what if there are a lot of perverts?"

"Then I get to have some fun" Gajeel chuckled with a growl, sounding like a giant rottweiler from hell while he cracked his knuckles

* * *

At the same time across the town, Natsu was lying on his bed in room. His lips curved into grin as he observed his phone screen and although there was no reply he was content that the initial seed has been planted. There was small doubt that Loke was tricking him and gave him wrong number but if so there is easy way to test that out later so for now his little bit of curiosity was satisfied. He had some time free, no practice today and with Gray having to close door in front of his nose before he could sneak into his dorm room, entire day was going to be slow. Perhaps a day, but what about evening? Evening was another story and he went over older message he received earlier "Meet you at 9 in front of Sabertooth".

Another day to be full and fruitful. If Lucy is not going to budge in, there are plenty of girls who will. One drink, his charming smile, one dance on the floor and everything was possible. Lucy isn't the only girl on this planet and he had to be on top of the game.

His thoughts were interrupted by the knock on the door and without averting his gaze from the screen he asked "Who is it?"

"It' me!" voice that belonged to Wendy was heard "Wanna go and help me out with homework?"

"Be right there!" he shouted and swiped across the screen to exit messages and stood up going out of his room and toward Wendy's.

The next half hour has passed mostly in Natsu's expression that resembled mix of boredom and extreme confusion… if such mix could ever be possible. Though it was about geography and something about cloud types he was mostly confused as to why she required his help when she did well on her own. Still he gladly endured as he watched her go on and on about it non-stop. Smile appeared on his face as she was doing all her assignments and homework, verbally explaining every process of every answer and every sentence she wrote into her notebook.

"What do you think about this?" Wendy turned notebook and showed Natsu her answers. He looked at what she wrote and blinked couple of times to adjust his vision that was previously locked into some distant point.

"Looks good to me" he grinned

"You didn't even read it all" Wendy pouted

"I did! I promise!" Natsu quickly added "But why do you need my help when you already know all of this?"

Wendy sighed, putting her pen down "I know but, I just want to spend more time with Natsu-nii…"

He gazed up at her noticing rather sad expression on her face. Natsu understood where this was coming from because when he was in highschool he had more time and he was a lot closer to Wendy than now. He was more interested in fooling around than in girls so time was far less of an issue for two of them. She was still in elementary school back then and even though they came from different parents he felt strong connection to Wendy, eagerly protecting her every time he could. Natsu even started few fights because of her which of course never pleased Igneel but there was a tint of pride in him when he saw the boy smiling from ear to ear, covered in bruises and cuts.

This time Natsu felt that he was leaving Wendy out and he knew that his _life_, if he can call what he was leading, was too fast for Wendy to follow and she was right to feel left out. His hand moved over her head, patting her lightly and moved her closer to him, placing kiss on her hair.

"You know, I know and I think we should do this more often…" he said and grinned toward her and upon hearing those words she beamed up a bright smile at him "now tell me again about those... ummm… cuba… cucu… humus…"

"Cumulonimbus" she giggled correcting him and he nodded along with her trying to repeat

"That's what I said Cumulohumus. Alright and what are these?" He moved finger to the book at another could type

"Stratocumulus" Wendy answered upon looking where she was pointing

"No thanks I just ate" prompting another wave of giggle from her "I'll take desert though"

Two hours later and Lucy arrived at destination, still wearing her usual everyday clothes held same bag Gajeel gave her in her hand. She took deep breath and went to the front doors but before she could open a rather large hand appeared in front almost out of nowhere, stopping her from entering the building. The large hand belonged to even larger man in black suit and neatly combed teal hair

"Wooo cutie, where you think you're goin'?" he asked looking down at her with slightly furrowed brows and piercing glare "We are not opening for half hour more"

"A…actually I'm here for the job"

"Oooh, Lucy, right?" he asked and she nodded quickly, slightly terrified at this guy's giant physique but the tension was lifted as he grinned and moved arm that was blocking her path "Yea I was told you will be coming. Boss is inside, blonde hair, gray shirt and west, can't miss him"

Lucy nodded again and opened doors, looking inside. Place looked amazing, much better decorated than any place she worked so far. Everything inside was in bright colors, the bar was spacious and wall behind it filled with various bottles of drinks from just about any and every brand there is. Every table was made of glass and at the center was the logo of the place that she saw on the way in and by the walls were couches, black leather with small tables beside. Center however was perhaps the most astonishing place she saw, wide podium divided into squares and each was illuminated in different color, going on and off in random patterns.

Aside from the members of the staff there was no one inside. Few of the girls, perhaps four as she counted, dressed all the same preparing for their shift. Behind the bar stood a man in white shirt and red west, cleaning the counter so that it would be sparkling before they open. Her gaze now shifted as one of the man approached to her, wearing clothes that guard, if that was guard actually, described. _This should be the boss_ she thought.

"You are Lucy, right?" He asked

Lucy nodded toward him, having slight feel of anxiety rush through her "Y…yes"

"Relax sweetie, this isn't military camp" young man chuckled and his eyes moved up and down on her "Turn around, let me have a better look" he demanded and took a step back and she complied "Pfff… you'll fit right in with that look, should probably keep you longer than the trial"

Suddenly she felt slightly uncomfortable having to be observed that closely by a man she never saw before but she could either take this as a compliment and move on or consider this a pervert's obsession at which case she'll end her shift before even starting.

"Alright, I take it you got had rules explained to you?" she waved head as she turned to face him. His eyes wandered down to her hand, spotting the bag she held "Well I take it you already figured the dress code. Other than what you were given you can wear whatever you want regarding boots or head accessory for as long as it doesn't cover the face. Make up is your own choice though this is always taken loosely…" he grinned looking around a bit before back at her big brown ones "I guess you can figure out how you are supposed to look"

She nodded "Do not worry, I worked at place like this before"

"Past tense sweetie" he chuckled, trying to ease up her still visible tension "I can only guess where it was but we are not like that. You get 12 000 jewels per day fixed and for now you'll four days per week. Any tip you receive is yours and judging by your look it won't be hard for you to even earn double" he continued to smile at her as she took mental notes

" And that leads me to final rule. Our customers sometimes tend to be a bit… _handsy_ if you know what I mean" she knew exactly what he meant by handsy and it was the 'accidental' slip of hand on either her ass, breasts or thighs.

"Mmmyea, no can do here" he quickly waved his head "You are waitress so you are to be polite, to serve drinks and to be eye candy although the last one you nailed pretty well" he winked making her blush slightly "but this is not a brothel, eye candy is as far as you should allow, if someone tries to get more than you are comfortable with, you are free to report it and the lovely gentleman you saw outside will make sure he gets ticket out through the backdoor"

"Got it!" she said, having a small feel of relief and even soft smile emerged, understanding that at least her bit of dignity would be preserved… not that clothes helped.

"Alright we start in…" he looked at his watch "20 minutes and you work until 10 p.m. which means that you'll work day shift. Night shift starts at 10 p.m and all up till 6 a.m. That is when we are most busy but since you are first time here, better take easier shift till you get used to it"

"Understood" Lucy replied again

"Alright, the dress room is at the back, one of the girls will show you the way, make sure you get ready"

Man winked at her and returned to his previous activity that went on before she came in, leaving her to stand again alone at the door and she took a deep breath again. _Alright Lucy, nothing you haven't done before so let's get this started._

* * *

Natsu was in his room, looking at the _masterpiece_ he produced this time while looking at the mirror. Dressed in jeans, slightly tattered at "strategic places" with silver chain hanging from the pocket and belt with Fairy Tail emblem as buckle. Shirt was white, short sleeves and both front and back had image of various paint splashes and on both wrists were leather wristbands, both having short and dull spikes. He gently pulled collar of the shirt and took a long sniff at the strong but pleasant scent of perfume he applied earlier and content smile emerged on his face. It was time for the big show.

Twenty minutes later and two young adults entered the Sabertooth, having few looks turn toward them but most were focused on their dancing to loud music, drinking or just having plain fun. Gray wore more relaxed clothes, or at least how he described them to be. Long sleeved white shirt with image of two ice cubes and black jeans along with chain that hung from his neck. Natsu's keen eyes already spotted his potential next "victims" on the floor while Gray was just smirking and looking for good place to start and although bar would usually be the good first checkpoint, they were both interrupted by voice.

"Yo Natsu! Gray!" blonde man, not much than them approached them and greeted both with slight fistbump

"Hey Sting, long time no see" Natsu grinned as Sting moved inbetween of them and placed his arms on their shoulders

"Well it wouldn't be as long if you would to come more often"

"Yeah right, well you know how it is, college, chicks and today's economy hooo… really puts the strain on one's wallet" Natsu grinned impishly and Sting just laughed

"Give me a break as if you care about economy. Come I got perfect spot and I got news I wanna share"

"Hey man, did you redecorate?" Gray asked as he was practically pulled by the blonde across the dance floor, having people move out of their way. They reached couches and Sting sat, having both of them grab a spot and lean back.

"Yeah, didn't like the old look, last century crap. This is more of the predator style"

"No kidding, I like it" Natsu grinned again in sign of approval, not that Sting needed it but he liked having compliments on it.

"And speaking of, guess who owns this place now" both of them looked at him

"No shit! Really?" Gray asked completely shocked while Natsu grinned at what he just heard

"No shit… Rogue and I got the cash and bought this place from Jiemma, now it's ours and working better than ever"

"See Gray?" Natsu turned his head and looked toward him "I told you I should quit the college and start my own business. I mean this is paradise! He gets to party every evening and watch all the angels dance around him mmm mmmmmm!" he hummed as he watched couple of girls in miniskirts pass by "would you look at that? And he even dropped out of college."

"Yea before you get all excited get your facts straight" Gray started, attempting to interrupt before Natsu gets any further with his train of thoughts

"What facts?"

"Well one being that before Sting quit the college he was straight A student, was a candidate for summa cum laude, genius…"

"Summa what?"

"With highest honors. He was prodigy economist"

"Now you flatter me Gray" Sting chuckled but obviously enjoyed the compliments "It's all about demand and supply. Magnolia needed one of such night clubs and we provided the best, of course there's a lot of risk but with good investment smart involvement in events, you get a little paradise as you put it"

Sting's hand rose up, snapping few times with fingers and before long one of the waitresses came.

"Can I get you anything?"

Natsu quickly looked at her, having his jaw drop at the sight of her. Going from down and up, she were boots, white, reaching up to her knees having zipper run from heels to the very top of it. The second thing he noticed was miniskirt long just enough to cover her curve, white with gold trim laced over the edges and it too had a zipper to the side. Further up was the shirt, tight and color of gold with Sabertooth logo at the front and despite it covering her breasts it perfectly pressed against every curve. The length of the shirt was not enough to even reach her navel. Finally his eyes reached her face, light on makeup, only dark eyeliner, small bits of red tint on cheek, lips coated in hot pink lipstick and hair loose, falling over her cheek and framing her face. She was smiling at them although perhaps more of a forced smile but it was present.

The sight of it made Natsu completely baffled, speechless, dumbstruck to the spine and he closed his mouth only to smile wide at her

"Strange places we meet Lucy" he chuckles as he moved a bit on his seat

"You two know eachother?" Sting asked, looking between two of them

"Yeah we're in Fairy Tail"

"Well it's a small world, I just hired her today and she's already hit among the customers"

"That she is…" Natsu said slowly, quietly, eyes fixed upon her as she somehow managed to blush even with her makeup on but remained completely composed even when he licked his lips

"So then, can I get you anything?" she repeated with sweet voice looking toward Sting this time

"I'll have beer, cold" Gray shrugged slightly and without much of thinking

"Right I'll have usual, just tell that to Rufus, he knows and what about you Natsu?"

"Sex on the beach" his words were more insinuating than they were ordering drink

"Alright, one usual for boss, one cold beer and one dream never to come true, coming right up" Lucy winked and turned on her heel going toward the counter. All the while Sting was laughing at her comment along with Gray

"Man that was cold… that was… perfectly cold" Gray added as he watched Natsu lick his lips again

"What's going on between you two?" Sting asked as he wiped his eyes from small tears that emerged from the laughter

"Not telling"

"Dude got cold shoulder from her" Gray teased

"Oh don't give me that crap! You can't even try with her" Natsu quickly retorted and looked at Sting "Ask him about his girlfriend"

"What about your girlfriend?"

"She is smart, beautiful and she is-"

Gray started listing out excuses but Natsu quickly interrupted "stalking you every single day dude!" This gave another reason for Sting to laugh "I mean I could understand her when you two weren't dating but she is still behind your ass every single day! Fuck that dude!"

Before long Lucy returned with tray in hand and placed drinks in front each of them at the table and as she bent down to place in front of Natsu who took the chance to peek into her cleavage.

"Alright, rounds tonight on me!" Sting chuckled with content "gotta celebrate finally owning this place"

"Yea hold onto that…" he went into his pocket and pulled out 10 000 jewel bill and held it between his index and middle finger "tell you what, since Sting is buying, here's a tip for you _IF_… you give me a kiss"

Natsu's grin was obvious and wide as he watched Lucy, showing shock in her eyes. Her heart skipped but not out of heat or passion, this skip was simply due to anger. He was never going to just leave her alone after this. She narrowed eyes at him, keeping the grin on her lips but it was obvious to him that she was absolutely livid about this situation but what he didn't know was how much she needed the money and this is almost entire day's pay in here. Sting sighed at the sight

"Natsu, how many times have I told you not to flirt with my waitresses?"

"I am not! I am simply offering her a hefty sum for one kiss. I am not touching her am I?" pinkette looked at Sting who had nothing to reply to it, and even though it was much against the rules to force waitresses he also knew that for such tips it was common for much more to happen than a kiss even before he became owner of Sabertooth.

"Only if she accepts… if she refuses you are to stop bothering her, alright?"

"Fair" Natsu grinned and turned toward Lucy again "So what's it gonna be honey?"

Lucy stood tall for few moments, glaring at Natsu who couldn't shake the excitement that was visible on his face now. The struggle inside of her was going on, and it was strong battle. She was in desperate need for more money and this much cash would at least ease up her a bit but at the same time if she would to accept and actually comply to his request he would not stop pestering her until judgment day… however she remembered the reason she is doing this and she knew that there was little place for dignity.

Lucy leaned forward, placing both hands on her knees and the pressure of her arms that clutched her breast made her already tempting cleavage look even better. She tilted her head at him offering but a soft smile from her pink lips that parted. He found the sight completely irresistible, feeling the heat catching up to him around his groin and his heart was pounding faster as she moved closer and just as she was but a centimeter from his lips he tilted head further, planting a soft but quick kiss on his right cheek, closer to ear than to his lip and her fingers grabbed the bill from his own, leaving him short of satisfaction.

"Wait hold on-" Natsu protested as she moved away

"You didn't specify where the kiss should be, your loss" she smiled sweetly at him and took empty tray, moving away from the table, leaving the trio to watch as she folded the bill and placed into small back pocket of her miniskirt.

"I am definitely keeping her around" Sting looked her way for a moment with a wide smile

All the while, Natsu was neither smiling nor frowning, neither was he happy or sad. His expression was completely blank, jaw slightly dropped and eyes wide open as he observed her walking away, not blinking a single time as if trying not to miss any of the sight. He was left there with heart pounding fast and wild, hard enough for him to feel it on the surface of his skin and on his cheek, there was just one pink mark in the shape of her lips.

* * *

**A/N: Unbelievable! First chapter where Natsu isn't giant asshole and I loved it! I found that his interaction with Wendy should bring about the feel that under the bastard coating there is the gentle side of him but I only gave a teaser scene of it. I am yet to further explore his past and his relationship with Wendy, Igneel and Gran and I really want to work on those characters. Still in this chapter I found out that Lucy has a terrible terrible weapon to use against Natsu. Anyway, thank you for reading, see you on next chapter!**


	6. I am slowly losing my ground

**A/N: Shorter chapter that was meant to be in previous chapter but I had to separate it, continuing with some love/hate fluff though I doubt in quality of this chapter. Still this is all just prelude to bigger things and bigger plots so... until they come, please bear with me and let me know what you think about this chapter in reviews.**

* * *

_Of all the possible places of all the possible nights, did he have to show up there and now?_

It was 10:30 and her shift has ended half hour ago but she couldn't exit up until now due to customers that wanted some more time with the new waitress that started working. She really was a big attraction at the club and all it took was a bit of her smile and small wink here and there for male customers practically swarm to her… Truth be told, there were cute girls who were very interested as well and even though Lucy felt shivers up on her skin at their flirts she kept her professional attitude and politely declined their advances on her. Perhaps this was a good night or perhaps not but then she thought… with everything that is happening in her life, the whole crap that piled over and waiting to crush down on her, small bits of validations that she is not a complete wreck was like unguent placed on burn. It felt oddly satisfying, invigorating. It just plainly felt good to feel attractive to someone.

Lucy took deep breath and placed her jacket on as she continued walking, holding the bag of her clothes in both hands that were in front of her as her feet led her on the sidewalk toward her house. This wasn't a complete waste of time after all; no it was better than that. She managed to earn almost 28 000 jewels and that is including daily pay. There will be one less thing to worry at least for a short while and give her time to breathe before another big rush.

Her mind suddenly shifted, unexpected, unintended, but there was a particular image that flashed before her eyes… the image of Natsu with devil's grin on face and 10 000 jewels bill between his fingers. There was no doubt in her mind that he will continue to press more and more but she knew that she cannot trust man like him to enter her life because there was undeniable fact that at one point once he realizes things about her, he would start hating her for her dishonesty… He would hate her, she would hate him and then she would hate herself and there was no room for last one. She had no such luxury to crack under the pressure.

Then there was another strange flash inside her head, but more of a complex memory than simple flash. There was this strange sensation in her chest as she remembered the point where her lips connected to his cheek. Soft scent of his perfume mixed with his own strong scent filled her nostrils and his cheek was oddly soft. She bowed her head continuing to walk. It wasn't a point of love that she felt, there wasn't attraction in her chest that bugged her, it was something else… something deeper, something more terrifying. There was a memory of different scent and different softness… there was pain.

For few minutes she cleared her head, removing any thoughts that lingered in her mind and t she enjoyed this calmness of empty street illuminated by lamps. There was no other sound but the one she made with her heels but that sound was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Lucy reached for it and looked at the screen, again it was the number not added to her contacts. She stopped walking, staring at the screen waiting to see if it will stop ringing but once she realized it would continue her finger swiped across the screen and she pressed it lightly against her ear.

"Hello?" She said after making few seconds of pause

"You cheated" Said the other voice

"How did you get this number?"

"Who kisses someone on cheek? I mean that's obviously cheating?"

"Who gave you my number?" Lucy repeated, her voice was monotone

"You owe me the kiss on lips"

"No I do not owe you a kiss!" She raised her voice and started walking

"Yes you do, I paid well for it"

"Oh excuse me, for actually not being a hooker that does your bidding for money!"

"So why did you took it?"

"What?"

"The money…" there was pause on Natsu's side "If you didn't like my deal you could have walked away"

"Would you have stopped bugging me if I did?" She asked and for the long 10 seconds there was no response "Be honest. If I did walk away would you have stopped?"

After another 5 seconds of silence Lucy believed that he might have dropped the phone or forgot to turn it off and end the call however before she could move phone to end conversation on her own response came

"No"

"Are you satisfied now that I kissed you?"

"No"

"There is no winning with you is there?" Lucy voice received tint of growl, she was slowly becoming angry

"There is" Natsu replied, making Lucy slightly confused but she felt eagerness to hear what would make him stop "Go out with me on a date"

"No" this time she used his answer

"Why not? I mean… You are first girl who rejected me for 3 or 4 times in a row! I want to know the reason."

"Geez aren't I special then…" Lucy rolled her eyes as she looked left and right to see if there was any car incoming and she crossed the street.

"Is it because you prefer chicks?"

"What?" Lucy raised voice

"Are you by any chance lesbian? I mean I'm perfectly ok with that we can invite another chick to tag along and-"

"I am _NOT_ a lesbian!" She shouted into her phone but her hand quickly moved up and slapped across her lips. Her eyes looked around to see if someone could have heard her but sighed as there was no one

"So then what is it?"

"You want to know the truth?" Lucy stopped again and stood straight, looking into some distant point "I hate guys like you"

"And who are guys like me?" he asked having same tone

"Selfish, arrogant, self-centered jerks who think with their dicks first and believe that just because you are a little bit handsome you can have any girl you want" She finished her sentence, waiting for his reply although she could not understand why she even wanted to hear what he had to say

"You think I'm handsome?" he said, although she could not see he was grinning wide

"Ugghhhhh!"

"You think… I am handsome! Don't deny now!" He began chuckling

"Fine, yes you are… above average"

"Handsome" he corrected her

"Fine, handsome, you are physically attractive but that doesn't change the fact that you are all I mentioned before!"

"And that's enough for you to hate me?"

"Yes!" she practically shouted

"Well that hurts…" he replied sarcastically

"Go to hell!" she yelled and hung up on him.

Lucy took a long sigh and she suddenly felt nauseated by the very conversation she had with Natsu… it was strong feel, one that made her stomach turn. She didn't mean to say that last thing but she did and while she didn't feel guilty that she said the truth there was also feeling that it was plain wrong thing to say out loud. There was nothing in her mind that would explain why he is so persistent in going after her and that very void of reason angered her further.

_Why should I even be bothered? Not my fault he cannot take a hint_ Lucy thought and suddenly a thought occurred... what if he doesn't stop and presses forward until he discovers more of her private life... That much humiliation, that dirty look of pity she would never be able to shrug off.

Another ten minutes of silent, thoughtless walk and she was at her front doors. Taking another long sigh she slid the key in and turned once, twice and grasped doorknob, opening doors. House was dark, save for one light source coming from the living room, belonging to tv. Lucy removed her shoes and moved toward living room spotting Gajeel and Levy on couch, sleeping soundly. Gajeel was leaning back with head over the lean while Levy nestled herself under his arm. Lucy smiled softly at the sight as she gently shook Levy on her shoulder and the bluenette, being light sleeper, immediately opened her eyes

"Who… what…?" She asked still confused

"It's alright, It's me" Lucy replied as she moved to the wall and turned on the lights. Levy yawned wide as she narrowed her eyes from the bright light. Gajeel was not bothered one bit by it and he continued to sleep soundly.

"Oh, hey Lu…" Levy yawned again and stretched her arms up "You're back"

"Yeah, took a little bit longer than I expected but I finally got out" Lucy grinned "Was everything alright?"

"Mhm, all good" she smiled at Lucy

"Thank you very much for it, I don't know what I would've done without you"

"Well you don't have to think about it now do you?" Levy smiled wider at her best friend "Since I am here"

"Yeah" Lucy smiled softly in return thinking how incredibly lucky she has a best friend like that

"It's getting kinda late, maybe you two should sleep over for the night"

"No we should get going… I still need to get to dorm and grab my reports for tomorrow and he needs to get… my reports" Levy pointed toward Gajeel and decided it was good time to wake him up but shaking produced no effect on him.

"You wrote reports for him?"

"Maybe…" bluenette said with slight blush "I don't mind really. I love doing it and he works hard to take me out on dates and spend time with me"

Lucy smiled at what Levy said… indeed it would be nice to have someone to depend and lean on or at very least someone to make small gestures of kindness. Her smile turned into chuckle as Levy poked Gajeel under his arm and on ribs but that only made him swat his hands couple of times and mumble something about Sinatra and his singing dog…

It was incomprehensible but it probably means something to him at very least. Levy knew however how to wake him up, she sat on his lap facing him and pinched both of his nipples over shirt which made him jolt his head forward with a groan

"Ooy woman, don't do that!" he looked at her impish grin and rubbed his eyes "damn, how long was I asleep?"

"Half hour. Come let's get back to the dorm, Lucy's back" Levy said giving Gajeel quick peck on his nose before standing up, leaving him to rub his sore places. His gaze turned toward Lucy

"How was work?"

"It was very good, earned myself about 28 000 jewels"

"Haaah! I told you she is natural" Gajeel grinned wide while Levy gasped "There weren't any troubles, where there?"

Lucy waved her head and proceeded to tell them about her first day, about her boss and other waitresses and all the clients that gave her big tip… but she left Natsu out of the story. Despite her discontent with his actions she didn't want Gajeel to beat the living crap out of him and she knew he would do just that. For the moment she was still wondering about him, was it simply hate that she felt for him or was it something else, something stimulated by another motive that wasn't even related to him but to all men like him.

Gajeel finally managed to get himself up proving that he is one of the worst morning person or "afternap person" and this referred to the fact that he needed two mugs of coffee just to have his engine going but like all well-oiled diesel machines, once he is in full swing there is no stopping. Levy hugged Lucy tight and Gajeel joined with his hand on her shoulder and soon they left.

Lucy got herself to the bathroom and took her clothes off before entering shower and letting hot water fall down on her skin. The moment was comforting, soothing… her hands moved up on her arms and she sat down on shower floor and was still cascading down on her curves. Her head bowed down, eyes shut, pressing forehead against her bent knees and though her friends have already left she wanted to hide, she wanted to be cut off from the world… she wanted for water to hide tears that slid down on her cheeks…

* * *

Natsu on the other hand was sitting in the park looking at screen of his phone where there was a single image of Lucy he took earlier, sometime after the kiss. With tray in one hand and pink lips curved into smile she seemed happy on it but he knew better. There was discontent on his face considering that he failed yet again to become closer to her but there was something else on his mind too… he couldn't shrug off the feeling that she was hiding something from him and that only stimulated him further. If she has a secret, he would make effort to find out.

"I don't know if I'm going crazy or just horny but this girl makes me all fired up. You just wait Lucy" he said leaning back on the bench, averting his gaze from the phone screen and it was now fixed on the cloudless night sky "I'll show you the side of life that you haven't seen yet"


	7. Power of words

**A/N: I apologize for long wait for update, a lot of things came up and I barely managed to grab enough time to write. Still I hope this to change a bit in future and I'll have more time for updates. For now, please enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think about it**

* * *

Natsu yawned wide. It was another Friday and another class with Mrs. Straus, making it slightly less bearable. She was relentless during her lectures demanding almost absolute silence while allowing only sounds of papers turning and pens scribing to be heard. This was worse at the front rows where she could clearly monitor everyone but Natsu knew where to be during her classes. He only needed a passing grade and attendance and he achieved first on the exams while other was yet to be obtained on paper. To him, being at the very back of the classroom was only salvation and if she saw him yawning there would be hell to pay.

"Haven't slept well last night?" Silent voice from his side was heard, one that belonged to Gray.

"I haven't slept well entire week, not just last night" pinkette said in equally silent voice.

"Still same?"

"Still same."

"You know if I didn't know any better I'd say that you are falling for Lucy" Gray teased with a grin. Natsu would jump to disagree to this statement but he couldn't find energy and instead resorted to using words usually too big for him at this time of day.

"It's not that, It's… She is a mystery. No matter how much I try I can't even make a dent on her ice wall and I am a bit intrigued about her."

"Just intrigued?"

"Well not just that, I mean she doesn't even want to talk to me so I can find out what she likes…"

"And that is annoying you?" Gray asked but instead of any answer from Natsu, Evergreen yelled lough enough for everyone to hear as if she was standing right beside them.

"Mister Dragneel, Mister Fullbuster, scratching room! Now!"

Both of them groaned as they stood up and made their way outside of the classroom. Scratching room was a not a room but actually hallway. No one knew how it came to be named but the terminology was quite simple. Select students that consistently interrupted Mrs. Strauss's lectures were sent outside to prevent further interruptions. It was intended to be punishment but to select few it was a blessing rather than punishment, save for negative points. Name "Scratching room" pointed to fact that they would be sent outside to scratch themselves on head in attempt to think about what they did wrong to be punished. To most it felt silly, ridiculous even as it made no sense but then again, none had the courage to say that out loud in front of green haired teacher. Her gaze made people completely freeze in place and the fact that she married football coach who is twice her size made things even worse so… students learned to accept this term. Gray and Natsu of course would always chuckle whenever they heard this as Natsu once imitated a monkey scratching his head and that image stuck in their heads for life.

They stood by the door, leaned against the wall and now they had chance to properly speak about subject that brought them strange punishment/blessing.

"So… it is making you annoyed" Gray was first to resume the topic

"Yeah it is." Natsu responded looking forward, his brows slightly furrowed.

"So why don't you take a break from her and try with another girl?"

"Because I really want to get her. There is something about this girl, I can't explain it right"

Gray chuckled to these words, he was amused "You can't explain it at all fire-brain. Have you considered that she already has a boyfriend?"

"Nah, she doesn't"

"How do you know? She told you?" Gray asked both of them exchanged glances "If she had one why do you think she'd tell you?"

"If she had one she would tell me just to get rid of my advances but she didn't say it. Not like she would be embarrassed about it."

"Point, I guess… when did you become so observant?" Gray smirked as he looked again at Natsu "Who are you and what have you done to lizard?"

"Screw you…" Natsu huffed at Gray

"At least I'll get some unlike you. Oww!" He rubbed his shoulder as Natsu punched him rather hard "Coming with us after classes end?"

"Nah I have drama class."

"Wait, drama class? You joined?" Gray almost chocked at Natsu's words "When did you join?"

"Few days ago, no big deal man."

To Gray this was something impossible to grasp. He was silent for good twenty seconds with mouth open wide but after this time passed he shook his head quickly to snap out of his trance.

"Well I have to hand it to you… you are really going extra mile just to get Lucy." Gray said, his hand was already moving up to loosen the tie that was clenching his throat.

"What makes you think I joined for her?"

"Natsu, you can't remember three lines from poetry even if your life depended on it and now you joined a class that not only deals with serious prose but also has more text in one scene than you probably read this entire semester." Gray pushed himself from the wall and stood in front of Natsu, perhaps two meters away "Yeah I'm pretty sure you joined because of her."

"Dude, why do you care?" Natsu snorted and crossed arms, sending rather sharp look at him "And I thought you'd cheer for me!"

"I am you firefart but I am also worried about this situation."

"And why is that?"

Gray sighed, this was something that just occurred to him, perhaps not more than ten seconds ago but he had the urge to let it out "Girl is consistently rejecting you on every possible field despite your best efforts! You even tried to buy a kiss from her and she rejected you again."

"I got my kiss" Natsu frowned heavily, this was half right as he did got the kiss but not where he wanted.

"Mhmmm and she walked away from you as if it was nothing."

"So why are you worried? That she'll break my heart?"

"No, I am worried it's going to be other way around. She is really not the kind of girl you usually date and even if you do get through to her and she opens up to you like a book and spreads her legs for you… what's going to happen if she starts believing you actually like her but you only see her as one night stand?"

Gray had a point here, one that Natsu refused to fully accept but no word was out of its place. Still Natsu persisted and shrugged this easily.

"Come on, she'll know it's just for fun and even if she does get a bit hurt she'll get over it and find some other guy."

"You are an asshole Natsu" Gray waved his head, displeased at his friend's words "Look, I know you like challenges, I know you have this weird feeling right now but before you actually make her warm up to you, remember to remind her where _you_ stand in all of this."

With this bell rang and it was time for the break. They both waited for Mrs. Strauss to leave classroom and they entered to pick up their belongings that were on desks. Natsu took some of these words to his heart. He knew well that it would clear out a lot of potential misunderstandings but he also decided that he should deal with consequences as they come, for now his priority was to first get closer to her and idea occurred to him. He ran off to the third floor of the faculty and knocked few times on the door before entering. Large library room had numerous shelves filled with books, countless authors for literature of all kind along with any required book for classes that were taught at Fairy Tail. He moved toward the desk where a woman in mid-thirties was sitting siting, scribbling something.

"Good day mister Dragneel" she smiled wide at him as he approached

"Yea hello, ummm… this is going to be difficult…" he said a bit nervous

"Oh do not worry, it wouldn't be first time for you to bring girls in here" she replied still having her smile

"No no no, not about that, I am actually looking for a book"

"What kind?"

"Ummm…" he tried to remember, his eyebrows lowered "I don't know name but I think author was… what was it again… Yeast?"

"Yeast?" she arced her brow, slightly baffled at this "You mean Yeats? William Butler Yeats?"

"Yes, him!" he suddenly said loud "do you have anything about him or from him?"

"Yes, second row at the end" she pointed to the right and he nodded in return and went there. His eyes scanned books as he was looking for name that was said and found a number of such one beside another. He picked one and opened it, going through pages but as he reached a certain one he stopped searching and began reading. A small idea went through his head and for this idea to be realized he needed something to give him at least some sort of advantage and he believed this would be good one.

* * *

Final bell of the day rang and students began leaving the building, most were just pleased weekend is about to start however few remained at Fairy Tail for their extracurricular classes. One particular classroom began filling slowly and students were consumed in their small chat before professor would arrive. Lucy was sitting at the middle of the classroom, reading a book but this small peace was quickly interrupted.

"You know I sent you like… 10 messages yesterday and you didn't answer to any of them" she sighed at the words and responded

"I had nothing to say. I found none of them to be interesting or worth replying to" her voice already sounded annoyed.

"Don't be like that I was worried something could have happened to you." Natsu said leaning forward to be a bit closer to her as he was sitting right behind "At least respond with anything."

"Will it be enough if I reply with "go to hell" She asked turning head to look at him

"Yes, it would" he grinned. This particular response was something she did not expect, least for him to actually care.

"Fine fine… next time I'll find a better way to say to stop bugging me" She responded, not having enough energy to further argue and she believed that this kind of answer would at least make him shut up for the moment.

Couple of minutes later, doors closed and rest of class looked as professor Justine arrived, carrying book and couple of chalks in his hand. Instead of his usual routine where he would stand in front of his desk, now he stood at the board and looked toward the students.

"Good day" was first thing he said and continued "Today's class will be a bit shorted due to teacher's conference that will be held in about twenty minutes. That being said I believe we should begin discussing the upcoming play. Anyone has any idea that he or she wishes to share regarding choice of play?"

"How about "Terrors of Galuna?" voice was heard from back of the class

"I believe we already had that play a year back" Freed responded "We should look into something else for a change rather than fantasy-horror"

"What about "Inferno"?" Another voice, female this time, was heard

"Dante Alighieri?" Freed asked, pondering for few moments "Interesting choice." He placed book on his desk and wrote "Inferno" on the board then turned again toward students, asking for more ideas. Some even said Romeo and Juliet to which Freed responded that it is a bit of a cliché but he still wrote the name on the board along with Hamlet.

"I request that you write the play that you wish most to see be played and put paper on my desk. Majority wins, as always and in the meantime, miss Heartfilia I hope you had sufficient amount of time to look into works of W.B. Yeats."

"Yes professor" Lucy replied taking her notebook and started going through pages while Natsu extended hand and began playing with strands of her hair, much to her annoyance.

"You missed it" Natsu said to Lucy, smiling from ear to ear

"What?" She asked angrily

"It's on other page"

"How do you know?"

"I was paying attention" he chuckled and she growled, turning page finding that he was right. All of that did poorly for her composure but it greatly amused him. He took another patch of her hair, moving fingers through it and she quickly turned growling at him "Stop it!"

"Mister Dragneel" Freed interrupted this exchange of glares "You seem to be distant from the class yet again." As a response Natsu looked at him, confused at professor who continued "I asked you to place your vote for play but since you are preoccupied with miss Heartfilia, perhaps you are more willing to aid her then?"

"Umm… yes, of course professor" he responded, confident and with a slight smile on his face

"Very well, do you perhaps know any work of the W.B. Yeats then?" Freed asked as he was looking with great interest at pinkette while rest of students formed a line to place their papers on the desk. Natsu cleared his throat and turned first page of his notebook and looked down for few seconds and then his gaze turned toward Freed... his confidence was clear and noticeable, almost overwhelming as if this was just something he would be asked every day. His voice was strong and clear"

"_Had I the heavens' embroidered clothes,_

_Enwrought with golden and silver light,_

_The blue and the dim and the dark cloths,_

_Of the night and light and the half-light,_

_I would spread the cloths under your feet;_

_But I, being poor, have only my dreams._

_I have spread my dreams under your feet,_

_Tread softly because you tread on my dreams_."

He finished this little recital, his voice was neither irritating nor annoying to Lucy as it used to be but rather, oddly pleasant to listen and she was in complete awe. All the time she was watching him and not for single moment did his look wandered down to read his notebook other than first time before he started. Her eyes widened and lips slightly parted.

"Very impressive mister Dragneel" Freed smiled wide at this unusual scene, knowing Natsu's nature made it even more impressive "Do you by any chance understand the meaning of those words?"

"Well if I had to guess" Natsu grinned and scratched his ear "I would say that the author displayed the desire to have only the best and finest for the one he loves and he would spread heaven's cloths under her feet to walk upon. As we can all agree there would be nothing more beautiful than something that exists in heaven but he is poor and he cannot afford it so instead he is placing the only thing he has… himself, his wishes, his desires, his best and worst of thoughts and most of all… his dreams. In a way, he is giving himself to his beloved, asking only for her not to hurt him."

This was second time today where Lucy was in complete shock and she simply couldn't believe that a… jerk like him could remember entire poem not to mention to understand it, but there he was… standing tall and proud with smirk on his face. Natsu spared a short glance at her and winked. Her heart was uneasy again but this time it was not due to anger but rather, her heart fluttered at this unusual and rare display. Perhaps, just perhaps… he was not a complete moron that she expected him to be.

"Very profound of you, mister Dragneel" Freed nodded, keeping a smile on his face and his gaze was fixed on pinkette "I must say I haven't expected you to be so well versed in works of W.B. Yeats but I am pleasantly surprised to say I was wrong. In that case, I suggest that you and miss Heartfilia work together for the next class as I am afraid I will not have enough time to enjoy the discussion on the topic."

Natsu sat down and closed his notebook. His head turned to look at Lucy who quickly averted her gaze and looked forward, still unsure what to think about this whole situation. On one side there was a shock that he actually had enough brain to think about anything else but sex, on the other, there was uncomfortable thought of having to work with him and finally there was third, still confusing feeling that lingered inside of her… weak and difficult to grasp but it was there.

Professor Justine took all pieces of paper and stacked them neatly into a pile and placed inside his book "Very well, I shall examine your votes and deliver results during next class on Wednesday. For the moment, class is dismissed."

Students started getting out and for some reason Natsu was oddly quiet. He followed Lucy closely, almost brushing against her shoulder but he said nothing all up until they reached main gates of Fairy Tail.

"So how about this Saturday? You and me?" He said, breaking the silence between them

"What?" She quickly asked and looked at him.

"You heard professor, we need to work together." He said triumphantly "So how about it? You and me this weekend, restaurant or some coffee shop. You decide."

"Ughhh…" she groaned wishing this was just a bad dream but she knew that he would stick to her no matter what argument she would throw at him. Lucy knew well that there was no escape from this "Fine, Saturday at 14 in front of public library. No coffee, no restaurants, no walk in park, half hour at most, understand?"

Natsu nodded with grin and moved faster, going toward his home. As he walked he waved and said loud "It's a date!"

"It's not a date!" she yelled back at him and frowned, knowing that this would be one living hell of a weekend.


	8. One cell, two cells, gray cell

**A/N: Apologies for long wait, I had few issues to resolve first but new chapter is here for you to enjoy.**

* * *

For reason well known to Lucy, she didn't have to wait for Natsu. He was already in front of public library doors before she even arrived, waiting with big, dumb smile only he knew how to pull off. Natsu was leaning against the wall beside the door, clothes portrayed his usual and expected style… ripped jeans with chains hanging from pockets, tight red shirt, punk-style wristbands and sunglasses that were staying on top of his head rather on his eyes. In his hand was but a single notebook. A modern rebel incarnated… if he would chose a look it would be this one. Lucy on the other hand decided to make her best effort and not look in any way attractive. Blue jeans with plain white shirt, intended not to be tight but failed rather miserably under the pressure of her chest and to complete the look was a backpack that was hanging over her shoulder.

"You are late" Natsu said watching Lucy approach with look that was less than amused

"It is…" she lift her left hand and looked at watch "Five minutes until two, how am I late?" She responded with slight confusion in her voice

"Because I am standing here for half hour now."

"That is entirely your problem Natsu… I told you to be at 14 and there is five more minutes. The fact you stood there like an idiot for half hour is your problem" Lucy was already annoyed

"Shouldn't girls supposed to be like… coming early on dates?"

"No that's guys and this is not a date, this is half hour study session which we are going to complete and never speak about ever again. Now come" she ordered him and pulled tall doors of the library, entering first and making him follow in silence. The several rows of table stretched long at the grand main hall of library, each had two chairs on opposite sides facing center and at the far left were seemingly endless rows of bookshelves and all that was just first floor. Having no ceiling between floors, it was easy to see to second, third and even fourth floor with even more shelves and tables… It was rather impressive sight indeed, any booklover's paradise containing almost every publication of any book ever written in Fiore and beyond.

Natsu was in state of slight awe, trying to comprehend the amount information that was reaching him… beyond gym halls, stadiums and courts he never saw hall this big or so densely filled books.

"Amazing isn't it?" Lucy said in hushed voice, and for reason completely unknown to Natsu she was actually smiling now "Get seat over there" she pointed at one of few remaining seats that were left unoccupied. Natsu snapped out of his little moment and made way toward pointed table, sitting down and placing notebook on table. His eyes wandered again trying to find Lucy who first went to the far side of hall to speak with library clerk and then disappeared among the vast jungle of bookshelves.

It wasn't taking a genius to recognize the swift change from awe to boredom that swept through Natsu's face. He was sitting, he was waiting… he was alone in completely unknown world where people would either come in or leave in silence. A single tap of his finger upon the wooden surface of the table rang in his ears more loud than he thought it would be. Another tap and he listened the echo it would make… he was not used to this kind of silence.

Sigh escaped his lips as minutes passed in waiting. He became impatient and waiting in silence was not something that his personality accepted so easily… distraction was needed desperately and he proceeded to crack his knuckles but the sound, usually unnoticeable on field, was like a set of knives that pierced ears and this was met with few people turning heads to look at him. There was silent judgment in their eyes and he could see it as they pressed their fingers to lips in an attempt to signalize him to be quiet and for odd reason he stopped his little "distraction" and nodded head in apology.

Another long minute passed and Natsu was about to lose himself in little world he had in his head, to drift in simple daydream but all this vas in vain as the thump interrupted and couple of books appeared in front of him. Lucy finally arrived and sighed in relief as she sat down across him.

"Collected work of William Butler Yeats" she said in quiet tone

"He wrote all of that?" Natsu asked as he looked at both books in front of him

"Mhm… although this is printed version of all his collected poems. The other one contains his biography, as much as it is documented, but not all of it is about him, there are other poets in so we'll take what we need and write about it. Where do you want to start?" She asked him. Natsu averted look from the book and gazed at her noticing that for once she was not in foul mood like she used to be, quite the contrary her face had soft, smooth lines… there was no doubt that when she had her mind not set on hating him, she was quite the beauty.

"Ummm… what do you want me to do?"

"You seriously don't know?" She rolled eyes and same frown appeared yet again "Did you not at least made some plan?"

"I did" Natsu said with a bit louder tone, making few heads turn "I planned to be with you, I am with you, so far it's going according to plan."

"About the task…" she replied with teeth gritted.

"Well it is on my list of "tasks to do" and very high on it" he winked but she made no remarks, giving him now blank face.

"Natsu…"

"Yes?"

"Can you please focus?"

"On poet or being here with you?"

"On poet… Look, I know you came here to flirt, to get me to be a bit more open to you or to get to first or any base with me but it is not going to happen. Be it half hour, hour or ten hours it will not change and I really, desperately need to complete this because I desperately need points from Professor Justine to keep my scholarship."

Natsu was in listening in silence as Lucy's frown turned upside down, she was no longer angry but instead her emotions matched her words perfectly… desperation and he could not avoid it… not the look in her eyes nor the words that were actually pleading. He had many questions for her now but decided not to ask any of them… for now.

"Alright alright, lets work on biography first, life and stuff and then write a poem of his and maybe say something about it."

"That now sounds like a proper plan." Lucy sighed, feeling relieved as she managed to get to him finally.

He took the book and went over pages. After short while he found the title he was looking for and turned it for her to look. They spent next ten minutes going lines and lines over what was important to even say about Yeats and all the while… something bugged Lucy, there was something that constantly hanged above her head but she couldn't point out what exactly… it was the less smug Natsu… something about him, something alien about him.

"You have phone right?" He asked, his head was leaned in palm of his left hand, elbow firmly placed on desk, eyes fixed on notebook with other hand writing

"I do" her eyes averted from book to glance at him "What about it?"

"I mean, phone has digital clock on it… why do you need watch?"

"That is your question? Why I have watch?" she now lifted her head to look at him

"Well yeah I mean… You can easily look at your phone, why do you need watch?" He now looked at her, meeting her gaze

"I like it… it is a gift and I guess I trust it more than I trust my phone" she responded and returned her gaze down. To Natsu, technology was a tool, useful and practical and watch was something archaic and strange to have when everything could easily fit in one device.

"Parents gave it to you?"

Lucy made a long pause, long enough for Natsu to stop writing and look at her

"No…"

"Touchy subject?"

"I really don't want to talk about it Natsu…"

"Are they… treating you bad or something?"

"They are gone…"

"Oh…" Natsu replied in low tone, it was all he could say, it seemed like it didn't even phase her but some strange, some stupid bug in head made him continue "So… you live alone?"

"Yes…"

"With relatives?"

"No…"

At this point, it was obvious even to Natsu that she became uncomfortable with the topic. Her free hand clenched a bit and she showed sign of biting inner side of her lip, perhaps to stop from showing any emotion, perhaps to cover something but for once, just this once he listened to his reason rather than the bug and did not ask next question. He began thinking that this perhaps was not such a great idea, to consider this as date and he really wanted it to be. They resumed, uttering only words that were regarding the task they were given and for a while they were working well together but yet again… this thing that Lucy had in her mind bugged her _What is it about him, something strange, something… unnatural._

"What about your parents?" She asked, looking his way. For her to initiate conversation was a spring of fresh water to a thirsty man and even though her answers were rather _dry_ he decided to be generous with his.

"I live with dad, he's still alive… well obvious" he chuckled.

"And your mom?"

"She's umm… she died long time ago when I was still kid" his grin on face slowly died.

"So you live alone with your dad?" She continued with questions, much to his pleasure of doing.

"No, dad remarried about… 6 years ago and I got stepmom and stepsister, we live at same house."

"Is she nice?" Lucy asked.

"Hmm?"

"Your stepmother. Is she nice person?"

Natsu took a little time to be in silence, it wasn't the question that bothered him but rather some memories, one in particular that made him uncomfortable but he shifted from it. Indeed she was not the least bit bad person, quite the contrary she eagerly accepted Natsu and all he was in rebellious nature and endured years of his silent abuse in form of shunning her from his own little world he created.

"She is okay." Natsu gave half-assed reply.

"You two don't get along?"

"No it's just… I get along well with stepsis, I just don't get on good terms with Gran. She doesn't exactly understand me."

"What did you do?" Lucy's voice was filled with _you probably screwed up something_ kind of tone.

"Why do you think I did something?"

"…"

"Fine fine, since we are sharing. It started couple of months after she moved in. We kind of had an argument and she… hit me."

"How did she hit you?" Lucy asked, her focus averted from book and directed toward Natsu.

"She slapped me across my face." He replied with bitter tone, resenting the memory of it.

"Why did she do that?"

"I…" He took few seconds "I said something bad I suppose…."

"Like what?"

Natsu chuckled, pressing his palm against forehead and rubbing it "I told her _screw you, you are not my mother_"

"What happened before?"

"What do you mean?" he looked at her, frowning at her question.

"I guess there was reason for argue, what did you do?"

"I was still a kid alright? It was, don't know about ten in the evening and I kind of sneaked out of house through my window to play games at friend's house… they came to my room and couldn't find me, they called police and every one of my friend's house but I already left… came home around, three in the morning and they were waiting inside. Dad was already giving pissed at me and started giving huge lecture and Gran stopped him couple of times from slapping me. After that we kind of argued, I said that and she slapped me."

"So… you ran out of house without telling them where you are going" Lucy began, lifting eyebrow as she watched Natsu "made them worried sick and they called police because they couldn't find you… then instead of apologizing you told her that she is not your mom and she slapped you. Has it ever occurred to you that she was worried most and that what you said hurt her?"

"Why would she care?"

"Because it takes more than blood to make a family, Natsu… she accepted you right away, if she didn't care she wouldn't have hit you, instead you managed to hurt her twice in one evening. You should be happy, Natsu" she waved head and took the book again, going through pages.

"Why?" He asked, raising tone but this time he didn't care about heads that turned.

"Because at very least you have someone at home to care about you. When I ran away first time, my father didn't even care why I did it."

There were no words that came out of Natsu's mouth, this sentence was something that swept ground under his feet. Slowly, pieces of puzzle began to reveal in his mind, one piece at the time came into its place and first of those pieces is why Lucy was so desperate…

"I think we have enough about biography" Lucy said, sighing as she rubbed her eyes and looking at notebook "what are we going to pick about poetry?"

"I dunno, you know more than me about this" Natsu shrugged

"Well don't be lazy" she rolled her eyes "take a book and find a good poem"

A sweet melody of torment for Natsu. More work to be done in field he was not versatile and knew almost nothing about but it became impossible to reject Lucy. He took the book and went slowly over pages, not going further than titles but with every page flipped his eyes would glance at her. Natsu couldn't help it but marvel, he couldn't not notice that when focused, when not frowning and rejecting him, she indeed looked more and more beautiful, even plain as she is now… no… for some reason she was more attractive to him now than she was in the club.

"Aedh wishes for the clothes of Heaven" he read the title and grinned "Hey it's the one I was reciting yesterday!" the grin turned into chuckle

"Then it's a no"

"What about…" he turned few more pages "A prayer for my daughter"

Lucy stopped for a moment and looked at Natsu who had a blank expression on his face and she waved head, making his eyes roll in exasperation and he continued flipping pages.

"Alright what about The Rose Tree?"

"Read it" Lucy leaned slightly forward, expecting Natsu to begin. He cleared his throat and began reading

"'O WORDS are lightly spoken,'  
Said Pearse to Connolly,  
'Maybe a breath of politic words  
Has withered our Rose Tree;  
Or maybe but a wind that blows  
Across the bitter sea.'

It needs to be but watered,'  
James Connolly replied,  
"To make the green come out again  
And spread on every side,  
And shake the blossom from the bud  
To be the garden's pride.'

"But where can we draw water,'  
Said Pearse to Connolly,  
"When all the wells are parched away?  
O plain as plain can be  
There's nothing but our own red blood  
Can make a right Rose Tree"

"Alright…" she took deep breath "What do you think it means?"

"Looks to me like Rose Tree is country and that politics ruined the country… what it requires, to bloom again, for country to be green again is to be watered like any plant but they have no water, as in… they have no means to do so… but the other man said that only their blood can make rose tree red… meaning that only sacrifice of men can make country rise"

Lucy was yet again in awe, for second time in two days and that feeling she had so far appeared, more and more prominent as if it was a couple of cogs than began turning.

"How did you do all that?" She asked, frowning

"What? Reading bit? I dunno, I guess I just knew letters and decided to… put them together" he grinned wide at his sarcastic comment and Lucy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not that, what you just said about poem, and poem yesterday… how did you memorized it so quickly and even analyzed on class?"

"It's really not that hard you know, just… think a bit about it I guess" he shrugged.

Lucy extended her right hand slightly, leaning elbow on table as her index finger extended and pointed toward him "So you just pretend to be complete moron while you are…"

"Genius?" He quickly interrupted her and grinned

"…. Average" She finished, not allowing him to boost any kind of ego he could prompt at this point. "Then why are you acting like one all the time?"

"Hold on love!" He took her hand that was in the air, and fingers pressed on back of her hand while thumb found way into her palm. Lucy tried to pull her hand away but the grip was firm, unrelenting "You just assumed that I am idiot that knows nothing but to play football without actually wanting to talk to me. I am the one who wants you to get to know me but you push me away."

This part was true, Lucy knew that well and had nothing to reply on the comment, her mind slipped from attempts to pull away from his grip only enough to continue with train of her thoughts.

"So why do you..."

"Play football?" He finished her question "Let's face it honey, you don't see artist driving in new BMW or teachers that go to fancy parties. I mean some idiot painted two dots on white background and got ten million jewels because some other dumb idiot thought that is 'art' and the same artist became famous even though his grade was 2 out of 5 in school and he said that he is "misunderstood" where in reality he couldn't paint horse ass even if his life depended on it"

Lucy's jaw dropped, she couldn't believe words she was hearing and none of this was the usual bullshit that Natsu knew to spill… this was a side that she didn't see… this was what bugged her… Natsu is moron but not because he is stupid, but because he simply choses to be moron.

"And second thing, look at football players. Train, play a game, score, get better, move to better team, earn 200 million jewels per year, that's kind of life I want to have and I am damn good at football. I am fast, I am got body of a marble and on court I am unstoppable and even coach Strauss says I am the best! Why shouldn't I do what I do best and live life of comfort?"

For entire minute they just sat there in complete silence, not averting the gazes that were fixed one upon another. For Lucy it was a small bit of time to reminiscent on idea that is Natsu, that despite his asshole coating, there is at least some sanity down in his center but she was not allowing to be swayed even with this new light… even if he is an enlightened philosopher it was the asshole coating that he so eagerly spread around that mattered because it was his choice to begin with… for Natsu, this was a time to watch Lucy close, not much of deeper meaning except of the one where he began collecting the puzzle pieces. She was a mystery, an enigma, a complex rubic cube that he slowly began solving and right now he realized that he learned just a little bit from her expression… he saw something that he thought he couldn't see in her. A little bit of surprise.

The minute passed and it was Natsu who broke the gaze and the strange silent tension. His eyes gazed down at hand he held and as soon as she noticed that he was still holding her, she yanked it out. There was just a little faint blush on her face.

"Right… let's write down what you said about Rose Tree…" She said quickly and he nodded, finding out that he did enough "damage" on her ice wall for one day.A while later and they closed books and Lucy them both of books where she found them and they made their way out.

It was as they left the building when Natsu took his phone and looked at it, smiling wide "I guess I won"

"What?" Lucy asked, confused by his professing victory

"It is exactly 14:35, I made you stay five minutes longer than you said you would, I count this as my victory"

Lucy sighed, there was no argument she could make that would make him shut up "Fine, you win"

"So… to compensate, do I get to kiss you for five minutes? Fair reward."

"You get five minutes of watching me leave. You can only dream of the kiss." She smiled briefly and packed her notebook in backpack before turning away and walking. In any other case he would either yell or chase after her but there was nothing coming from him that was directed to her… nothing except the faint smile as he placed his sunglasses on his eyes and turned in other direction. Chuckle yet again escaped his lips as he said to himself "Man she is one tough nut to break…"

Fifteen minutes later and he was in front of his house, just as he reached to open a door his mind flashed to a particular conversation he held with Lucy. He frowned slightly, took deep breath and exhaled through his nose… hand opened door and he walked in, looking around. Making way to the stairs he stopped at the bottom and looked at living room and the person on the couch.

"Hey Gran…" Natsu said in soft voice and silver haired woman turned, averting her gaze from book she was reading to look at him, smiling lightly at him

"Yes dear?"

He stood for ten seconds in silence before opening mouth "Thanks…"

"For what?"

"Just… thanks" he said again and made his way toward his room, feeling small and odd feeling of satisfaction, leaving her to look toward stairs in utter confusion at his usual response.

* * *

**A/N: I had a bit of conundrum... The Rose Tree characters refer to some iconic people and I had idea of implementing Fairy Tail characters instead of them to but in that case i would belittle the work of W.B. Yeats so eventually I decided that unchanged, original version is the right one. This fanfiction is moving in direction even I did not originally predict I would take it but for some reason it is becoming more intricate and every chapter contains a little bit of information that leads to big one. Anyway, I talked enough, let me know what you think about the chapter in reviews, thank you all for you continuous support, you move me :).**


	9. Sweet for not so sweet

**A/N: When i first thought of how I would write this story, this scene in particular was one of several that defined the entire story, although in time heavily modified, the essence it there. I am content to say story is slowly reaching to it's first major complication and things are going to become rough... but for now... we are still not there yet. We are still enjoying a bit of quiet time...**

* * *

Alarm sounded itself and within just few loud beeps hand reached to it and silenced the machine. Eyes gazed upon the numbers that were displayed on it. It needed a few seconds for brain to fully function and once it comprehended the number seven followed by two zeroes on the alarm clock, groan was heard and the sleepy face fell down on the pillow. _Just… five more minutes…_ But alas there were no five minutes to waste and Lucy knew that well so she did only thing she knew would wake her up properly. It was time for shower.

Lucy walked down after the shower and into the living room where table with breakfast was already waiting for her and she smiled. Among the chaos that she goes through everyday this was a single thing she could count on, a singularity where all begins and all ends. She sat down and quickly grabbed couple of French toasts, placing it on her plate and began eating, fast, almost as if she was being chased.

"Dear you must slow down otherwise you will choke" elderly woman spoke as she came to the table, placing glass on it and poured some juice in it.

"Can't… need to run in…." Lucy stopped and looked at her watch "I was supposed to go five minutes ago"

"Must you work even on Sunday?"

"Mhm… I have two shifts today" Lucy reached into her pocket and pulled out money, placing it on the table "Speaking of, here is pay for this month and I am sorry it took so long"

"I told you not to rush, I am not going anywhere. I cannot leave you alone like this" woman spoke with soft smile and took a seat at the table, looking at Lucy who devoured toast one bite at the time.

"I know but I can't rely just on promises, I feel at ease knowing that your work is paid as well" she stopped for a moment and swallowed food that was in her mouth "And I know that I am already asking a lot of you…"

"Nonsense dear, do not think of it like that…" Elizabeth replied the smile has completely disappeared from her face and it was replaced by the saddened look, her hands gently squeezing

"It still doesn't feel right… I am taking your time that you could be spending with your family-"

"My family lives on the other side of the town and they live their own lives" Elizabeth interrupted her "They visit me once a week and understand my work so you don't worry about me. If it comes to a point where I can no longer be around I will first inform you about it"

Lucy smiled at this, indeed the singularity has been proven to exist and it was this thing… a person to rely on. She looked at the watch again and her eyes widened at how late it is. Her hand reached and took the glass, drinking entire content of it and placed it back on the table.

"Thank you very much for the breakfast I will be back sometime around the evening depending how busy it is at the club." And with that she took bag from the floor and went out, leaving the woman to sigh. It wasn't hard to read her reaction and it all screamed of worry… Often she wondered where Lucy found the strength to continue knowing that girls of her age don't even have half as responsibilities that she does.

"That poor child will lose her youth…" her hand reached and pressed against her mouth, eyes glistened and released few tears.

Noon was slowly approaching and Natsu was forced to undertake extreme and terrible measures… he was forced to roam the city alone. It wasn't any kind of punishment, dear me no… it was a simple fact that he was completely and utterly bored to the last strand of his pink hair. Gray had what he called "our day" with Juvia although in all honesty it was 'her day' that he couldn't miss and it was a time when they used to spend time alone. Gray didn't complain and it was also one day when he was not hanging out with Natsu which sometimes could be considered a blessing. His possibilities were very limited at this time of day… Too early for any kind of party, too early for any club, he wasn't particularly interested in visiting any cinema and those who were free to be called were preparing for the Monday.

In his mind Sunday is by far the most boring day, and I am sure I empathized that word quite enough but it is in fact true. The finest day is Friday, a day when everyone are too stressed from the college and are in desperate need to let loose and go wild, it is the day for miracles to occur, it is the day for conquest and glorious victories! Sunday is a day when you recover and prepare for another vicious circle of monotony and lectures. It did occur to him for a moment to call someone, some girl that he knew could easily score just by showing up at the campus dormitory… but there was this nagging voice in head that made him stop each time he would reach for his phone.

It was annoying, it was completely and utterly annoying thing. Staying at home? Now there is an idea he could easily avoid so he did only thing that he could think of and that is efficient in spending his time until he finds something better to do… he dressed up and walked out.

His feet could have led him anywhere, they could have led him to stadium where he often dreamed of playing as a star, but they didn't. They could have led him to museum but they most certainly didn't… where they did led him was down the little street with a sweet shop at the intersection.

Natsu passed it, not caring much for sweets but after few steps forward he stopped and moved back. His head turned and looked inside and grin appeared on his face, wide, mischievous and the same nagging voice in his head appeared only to whisper "your conquest awaits".

He opened the door and small bell rang as it did, signaling for customer. Content was impossible to hide on his face as he moved to table and sat on the chair. Eyes fixed forward seemingly gazing at some distant point until waitress came to him.

"Good day sir, can I take your order?" she smiled

"Yes well I was in the mood for something sweet" that was a lie "And I thought that I could take a few minutes to eat something sweet" that was also a lie "But as the shop has nothing to offer something so sweet that would sate my desire, I was thinking if I could order you from a menu. Since you are far sweeter than the cakes you offer." That one was in fact true.

Waitress leaned down, still having a smile on her face

"This is stalking you know?"

"Oh come on Lucy, it can't be stalking since I wasn't intending to come here in the first place. I swear I didn't know you work here!"

"Then you could have walked away" she replied, gritting her teeth

"Come now, like I said I am in the mood for something sweet and are you sure you are allowed to refuse service to a customer?"

Lucy looked over shoulder, trying to notice if her boss was looking but since he was nowhere to be seen she looked at Natsu again, this time without the same sweet smile.

"Why are you following me Natsu?"

"Like I said, I wasn't following you, I was walking and I noticed you working here."

"So now that you know that I work here how about you let me work" she gritted her teeth again, raising her voice just a little bit under the point of yelling.

"But I came to ask you on a date with me"

"That is not going to happen!" she was now raising her voice even higher and she quickly looked to see if anyone is watching this little show.

"What happened to you?" He asked looking at her, the grin disappeared

"What do you mean what happened to me?" Lucy asked, moving a little bit back and looked down as if trying to see if there was something on her uniform

"Well you were so much nicer yesterday" He answered, leaning back on his chair and folding his arms "I was thinking you were just about to allow me to be close to you.

"That was before I learned that you are also a stalker"

"So what we had yesterday was all a lie? I thought you liked me!" He made a sad face as fake as he can pull off but instead of sympathy from her all he got was Lucy rolling her eyes.

"Did you expect that we are going to become something after one day of study?"

"Ok so I need more days? That's cool, I'll take that" his face quickly lit and smile again appeared on his face, much to her displeasure. She was about to walk away but other waitress came to Lucy. She was a bit shorter than her, blonde hair and pink lipstick, in fact… she was close to being a shorter version of Lucy.

"Hey is everything alright?" she asked

"Oh it's fine Nea, he is just a bit indecisive…" Lucy smiled at her and looked at Natsu who clearly enjoyed this situation.

"Yeah like she said umm… I'll have vanilla cake slice and what will it take for me to borrow her for about… mmm ten minutes?" as he finished, the little waitress smiled wide and nudged Lucy who clearly couldn't shake away from this situation.

"Oooooooo" she started, voice high pitched and teasing "Someone's boyfriend came to visit hmmm?"

"Wait, what?" Lucy quickly asked looking at her

"Caught me" Natsu interrupted before Lucy could deny anything "we have so little time due to school and I don't get to see her often"

Waitress quickly nodded in approval and smiled even wider if it was possible "I'll get your order right away and I'll cover you in the meantime" she nudged Lucy again and quickly disappeared from the scene of this crime, leaving Lucy to contemplate on what just happened. Natsu was in full control however and with his foot he pushed other chair back a bit and nodded, asking her to sit. With two against one, she knew well that this battle is about to be lost and before that could occur she surrendered completely and sat down, glaring at Natsu.

"Here you go sir, enjoy" waitress winked at Natsu who nodded at her and took small fork, taking bite of the cake.

They sat in silence for a long two minutes. Not a word was uttered but to anyone who might look at them it would be like a scene from a movie. A rebel in jeans and red shirt on one side and sweet shop waitress in pink uniform on the other, of course few if any would know what truly went on. Natsu continued to eat cake in silence, pondering after every bite he took until Lucy finally broke the silence.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"What am I doing? I am just eating my cake" he responded in innocent tone

"No, you are after me every single day and you just don't take the hint" she leaned a bit forward "Natsu, why?"

"Tell you what…" he stopped and raised his fork, pointing at Lucy, his face was serious, brows slightly furrowed "I'll answer you one question, if you answer me one question. No lies, full honesty, deal?"

Lucy hesitated… she knew that there is not walking out this one even if she refused but in this she found a little bit of chance, at very least an opportunity to perhaps learn a bit more about Natsu and perhaps clear things out. So… she agreed.

"Alright, I'll let you ask first, anything you want, nothing is off limits" he grinned and leaned back on his chair, leaving fork on the plate and folder his arms in expectation of the question.

"Why are you after me? You could go after… any girl you want. So why me?" Lucy asked, it didn't took her long to think of this question as it was something she needed answer to.

"Honestly?" He leaned forward, placing elbows on the table trying to be as close to her as he can in this position "Because you intrigue me. Because of what you just said?"

"What did I say?"

"I can have every girl I can but I don't want that. Well I do but not always. What if I tell you I like a girl who is not some bimbo that falls for a football player without knowing the guy. Is he good, is he bad, is he talented does he have three grams of brain? He scores big time on games, he rides bike, hey everyone suddenly loves him so every girl gets her panties wet just by looking at him. But you? No you didn't do that, I am practically throwing myself at you and you are still refusing me. Your panties are as dry as a desert, aren't they?"

Lucy felt a bit uncomfortable, more so when he started mentioning her panties but she quickly gathered her composure

"You lead a boring life, I have never seen you on any party guys made, home or otherwise so yeah I am pretty sure you are missing out and I want to give you that little bit of fun."

"Now you sound as if you are doing me a favor and not trying to have sex with me"

"But I am trying to do that! Both actually. Why? I am good at it" he leaned forward a bit more but she leaned back "I am great at it. Nine out of ten girls finish before I do and say that I am great in bed… and car and tables and other places" he grinned wide, impishly even.

"And what did that tenth girl say to your "great skills" hmm?" She asked, adding bit of sarcasm to the quoted words

"I am looking at the tenth girl right now!" He moved back, leaning against the chair, his face showed signs of being severely annoyed "I can't reach you, I don't get you, just when I think I've read you, you close the book again and I am in the dark. Let's just say, I am attracted to you for some unexplained reason even though I don't go after nerds."

"Well that makes me very special…" she continued with sarcastic tone

"You think? I haven't had sex in a week. A week! I am honestly feeling like a junkie that is on rehab!"

"Hold on hold on, I never asked you to go on your abstinence because of me! We are not even close to being a couple and that is not going to change."

"Why? I am using my end of the bargain to ask you, why are you so set on refusing me without knowing me?"

She took a deep breath and in a single moment she remembered the reason but she couldn't say it out loud but also she couldn't lie.

"Because I do not have time for it… for you, for anyone else"

"You don't have time?" He asked, obviously in disbelief because of what he heard

"Natsu…" she took a bit of a pause and leaned forward "I have three part time jobs… I work here every Saturday and Sunday, I work four days per week in Sabertooth club depending on when owner says my shift is and I have another job to keep me occupied at workdays. I have no one to rely on, I have to pay my rent, I have to pay for groceries and…" she sighed "and having a boyfriend is something that I cannot afford to have distracting me."

Natsu was sitting in silence, eyes fixed on Lucy who now looked quite desperate in her explanation

"With you… you are just that type of guy who would monopolize his girlfriend and demand for her to be around, available and honestly to me you just look like that "just another Casanova" that wants to have girl and then break up after he gets tired of her… I can't afford that kind of heartbreak… not anymore."

"You don't even know me and you say what I am" Natsu spoke, rather loud, voice filled with anger

"How many girls did you sleep with this year alone?" She quickly asked, interrupting him

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, and rules of the game state that you have to be honest. How many?"

Natsu took a bit pause, he was to avoid this subject but Lucy didn't budge and she glared at him, piercing right through his brain and into the back of his skull. "Nine…" he finally responded in silent tone

"And I am not going to be your tenth girl just so you can fill your quota" she said and stood up, preparing to leave

"Wait! Wait… alright, let's say dating is off the table, how about at least we start as friends? Would that be better?"

"Why would you want to be friends with me and what do I have from being friends with you?" Lucy crossed her arms, frowning at him heavily.

"Who are you doing your assignments with?"

"That's…" she paused "none of your business…"

"it is in fact because I believe you have to do it with someone and with what you said I am guessing you have… five maybe six friends at best and not all are in classes you picked so you are working with random girls"

He didn't miss target so far… she returned to the seat and continued looking at him

"You are smart girl Lu, you are hardworking and not very social… how many are abusing all this to get good grade while you do all the work?"

"Not all are like that…" she said in low tone

"Not all. Those smart girls already work with other smart girls and guys and you are left with that rotten few that are riding on your back while you are doing their work and they get good grade. You can't stop because you'll be out of the group of people willing to work with you so you go along with it, all for the greater good."

Lucy frowned heavily, her lips pressed hand and she bit inside of it. Every word he said so far was true, every word hit it's mark perfectly to a point where the very realization of what he said is making her feel less and less like student and more like a laughing topic.

"Where are you going with this?" She asked, trying to keep herself composed and not to allow the emotion of pure sadness to emerge on the surface

"I am not as smart as you, I know that, but I am not lazy. You allow me to be your friend, and I'll work with you on those assignments. We share most of the classes, you point me what I can do and we both share working on it, we both get credit for it and you can forget the bitches that are riding on your back to get good grades for cheap."

"What's the catch?" She asked quickly

"Catch?"

"Yes catch. If a girl hears a story that is too good to be true… it ain't. So what's the catch Natsu?"

"There isn't one. I am just asking you to at very least start trusting me a bit more before you start judging me for who you think I am rather than for who I really am."

She sighed, again… all this sounded as good as it was rotten. Small voice in her head constantly screamed not to take up on the offer, knowing that there is in fact a catch but the fact that Natsu helped her working on the Yeats made her also think that he could be useful and helpful on other assignments. The thought of actually not having to do everything herself sounded so great in her head, it would make her life a bit easier.

"Alright Natsu, but if you break your end of the deal I'll personally ask Gajeel to visit you"

"Deal" he smiled wide and took out his wallet, placing 2000 jewels bill on the table and stood from his chair "Keep the change"

He was on the way out but halfway he stopped and returned and leaned toward Lucy

"Oh and you were wrong about one thing"

"And which one is that?"

"That you would never go out on a date with me"

"I won't"

"You just did" he chuckled and winked

"What do you mean I just did?" she glared at him

"Think about it… we were sitting for… good ten minutes? In a sweets shop. We talked, we got to know each other a bit more and we ended being more than we actually were before I walked in. This was a date, like it or not Lu" and with that he winked again and walked out, leaving her completely speechless to sit on the chair. Small voice in her head constantly singed "_I told you so_" but it was way too late to change her mind.

"Soooo how did it go?" Nea came and sat on the chair where Natsu was

"How did what go?"

"You know… you and him… did you kiss?"

"What? No, come on will you please stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Nea asked slightly confused

"That… connecting every guy that walks as my boyfriend or potential boyfriend" Lucy rubbed her temples, the strain of conversation with Natsu has finally kicked in and headache emerged

"Well he is kinda cute, don't you think?" To this, Lucy had no answer, she wanted to respond but whatever answer she would give would be wrong one so instead she took a moment to remember his face.

"I guess…"


	10. Monsters around me

**A/N: Here I m, back from the silence and with chapters! A little late, I know but there were some... developments that prevented me from continuing story, hopefully such will be few in future.**

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Wednesday came again and for the past two days Lucy neither saw nor heard Natsu. Not a single text did she receive from him and if it was any day she would be more than glad to not be bothered by him but two things interfered with this thought. First was simple one. With her score and amount of classes she attended every assignment carried a certain amount of points and she always grabbed as many as she could, and for this, she made a deal. The thought of having to work with Vanessa gave her chills right down on her spine, even more having to listen to excuses she would make every time. The other "thing" was seemingly more complicated, it was a mix of feelings that intertwined in Lucy's head, not allowing her to figure out which is which.

Perhaps it was an odd sense of void, that strange feeling where she started missing Natsu but every time she would even think of his name her head would shake almost involuntarily as if trying to clear itself of such thoughts… but the though always came back after a while. The fact that she didn't sleep well last night yet again made things even more difficult and it was starting to show on her. Exhaustion, stress, constant chasing, it was one brick after another that fell on her shoulders, placing more weight on her already shaking foundation. In such times that came, times when everything would pile up on her she would simply wish to return home and sleep through the rest of the day… if only it was possible, if only she could take a moment to breathe.

Bell rang for the start of class and she entered the classroom where Economy class took place. She sat at the front, as usual, having as little distractions as possible for the duration of the class. Distractions however found her and her head turned, looking at rest of amphitheater, seeking for familiar face, but alas, she didn't found whom she was seeking and focus turned toward professor that entered. She took notebook and started writing notes on the subject of inflation that professor Richard explained very thoroughly. This very subject sparked much interest in Lucy as it was one of the subjects she chose to attend and on every class she was more than eager to learn where others attended simple due to lower requirement to pass. Pages quickly became filled as she wrote, only occasionally looking in professor's direction and once again at the back of the class. Small flicker of worry and fear appeared in her chest in expectation of what follows and her leg shook nervously with each minute that passed.

Bell rang yet again and students rose from their seats and began leaving the classroom, leaving blonde student on her seat to finish writing few more notes that she deemed needed to be remembered. She bit inside of her lip and just as she was to stand, familiar female voice reached her.

"Hey Lucy!" girl spoke, standing in front of her desk. Fairy beautiful one could say even though half if it was due to make-up she wore, black hair reaching just a bit lower than shoulders, perfume stronger than Lucy could bear and a small smirk on face, on of a predator that seemingly found easy prey.

"Oh, hey Vanessa…" Lucy replied, resisting biting the lip stronger than she did so far. Her eyes glanced to left where other 'two from the pack' were standing, talking to each other. _Of course they would stick together_ she thought.

"I loved today's lecture it was so… real, you know what I mean?" Vanessa said, voice slightly higher pitched witch made Lucy feel nauseated at her attempt to make small talk.

"Yeah, real…" it was all she could reply.

"So did you pick up an assignment?" question followed, same tone that revealed true intention.

"Yes I did."

"Great, so when can we start? I am free all week" Vanessa seemed enthusiastic as game seemingly played as she expected.

"Actually, I kind of already have partner for it." Lucy replied, each word was more difficult to exit than previous one and for the first time she hoped to see Natsu appear out of nowhere like only he can.

"Already?" Vanessa looked surprised but retained the smile "Well, we kinda, you know, always do assignments together"

"I know but this kind of happened unexpectedly." Lucy said, closing her book, trying to see way out of this situation.

"So…" brunette started, not leaving Lucy to evade and her arms crossed, annoyance was visible on her face despite attempts to hide it "Who is your partner?"

"That would be me." voice reached behind Lucy and in that very instant she felt entire weight on her chest drop down. Never before was she so glad to hear Natsu like this time and her lips curved into small grin that she hid, rather well. "By the way, hey Vanessa, black looks good on you." He added, pointing at her hair but his attention quickly returned to Lucy "You didn't forgot about our deal right?"

"No, no!" Lucy quickly replied, involuntarily showing small bit of excitement. She packed notebook in her bag and stood up.

"Great! Let's get going then." He grinned wide as they both passed by Vanessa and her friends. She frowned, gritting her teeth and as soon as they both left the classroom she picked up phone from her bag. Two of her friends that stood beside quickly came to her.

"Wow, did you see that?" First one remarked, excited about the possible gossip.

"Natsu with a nerd? You think they slept already?" Second quickly followed in the train of thoughts.

"If they did, someone is going to be sorry" Vanessa showed a sour grin, keeping her focus on the screen while fingers pressed on it fast.

Lucy felt relief, pressure completely disappeared from the moment they left the classroom and she didn't hid this feeling. Both of them walked side by side, Lucy was still gathering lost bits of composure while Natsu retained his usual appearance which contained smile and look of not caring for anything, or at least, that is how others would view it. He felt that she needed this, saw that her courage was nearing it's very end and despite the tiny voice that kept nagging him to put hand on her shoulder, he refrained and instead gave her peaceful minute to collect her thoughts. One minute was all he was allowed to give.

"That felt good, didn't it?" Natsu initiated conversation.

"Hmmm? What did?" Lucy asked

"That back then, refusing the lazy bimbo." Natsu added quickly "I mean I would probably go mad if I had to stick with her for more than one day and you had to be with her entire semester? Props for endurance Luce."

"Yeah that felt a bit good." she added in soft voice smiling but like a lightning it struck her "And where were you?"

"Hmm? Who me? I was in the classroom the entire class." He replied, looking at her frowning face.

"No, I would have seen you, you weren't in."

"I was right behind you." he added, showing extended three fingers. At that moment Lucy quickly unrolled her memory. As she entered, did she really miss him? How could she miss him with that ridiculous hair of his? She was confused, started questioning if she was going mad from all the pressure lately to the point of not recognizing one person from another.

"N… no! No?" she questioned, stuttering at her own words. Her feet stopped and she looked at him.

"Yes yes," He smiled wide and turned toward her. His hand reached into his bag and he pulled out Fairy Tail hat and placed it on his head "you couldn't see me because I was wearing this, but! More importantly, why did you think I was not in?"

"That's because I…" and she stopped, realizing that she was about to reveal that she actually was looking for him in the crowd of students. Was she going to allow his ego to boost to such great extent and give him the absolute treat that he would hold over her head entire day? She waved her head quickly, not finishing the sentence.

"Because you were looking for me." Natsu nodded as she was waving head, the grin became smile, revealing his teeth, giving her the obvious, undeniable sign that he completely understood what she was going to say.

It took Lucy five seconds… five agonizing, tormenting, absolutely unbearable long seconds before she spoke and there was no conflict in her words "Yes I was because you and I have a deal and I was merely making sure you did not back down on it."

"Luce, I am many things. Hot, fast, handsome…" he started but Lucy interrupted him

"Delusional?"

"Yeah that too sometimes but I do not go back on my word."

"And what is stopping you from breaking your own word?" Lucy asked almost in almost inquisitorial tone.

"Because if I am not going to be held by my word than what would I be left to stand on? But this is not about that, this is about you… and you, actually looked back and tried to find me." He came close to her but before he could stand too close she took a step back, creating distance between them "So, what are we working on?"

She took deep breath through her nose, knowing there is no way out anymore, she surrendered and spoke "Influence of advertisement in modern consumer society."

"Wow that's… yeah that's gonna be easy," he bluffed, pretending to know what it meant "that reminds me, how come we are already doing this? Didn't we like, finished one this Sunday?"

"First of all, that was drama club, this is economy. Second, semester is ending so classes are bound to produce more assignments for extra points and I need as many as possible if I want to keep my scholarship. Regretting already to have made that deal?"

"Hell no, more the better, means you and I get to spend more time together" he smiled and she frowned but he finished sentence "as friends."

He would continue to tease her more on this subject but the idea was abruptly interrupted by a hand that fell on his shoulder and lightly squeezed. Expression on the owner of the hand was cold, eyes widened and showing signs of great fear. For Natsu it was all he could ever need to understand the meaning however Lucy was confused by this expression.

"Heads up, Attila is on warpath!" Gray said still holding same, terrified expression on his face.

"Fuck…" Natsu sighed, closing eyes and his head simply dropped forward "Me?"

"You"

"Locker incident?"

"Locker incident"

"I told coach that doors just opened, it was not my fault!" Natsu said, raising his voice. His calm appearance and sly grin replaced genuine anxiety.

"Yeah well you're now gonna have to explain that to her" Gray added, still holding hand on his shoulder, ignoring Lucy's presence who all the while was confused by the strange conversation between two students.

"She is not gonna believe me! She wouldn't believe there is a stick up her ass even if there was a stick up in her ass and I told her there is a stick in her ass!" Natsu's voice raised almost reaching the level of a shout. Gray's hand loosened and patted him twice on the same shoulder "she is right behind me, isn't she?" Natsu asked, swallowing hard.

"Was good knowing you, fire-fart." Gray took several steps back, leaving Natsu all alone to stand. Pinkette bit his lip and took one short breath before sporting best of his smile while he turned, facing the red haired girl that stood behind him. There was no frown on her face although anger could be seen and felt. Her arms were crossed and her gaze was fixed on Natsu who immediately started regretting words he said.

"Hey Erza, we were just talking about you." Natsu spoke, voice thin, apologetic even. Lucy was in complete awe at this girl who commanded such fierce respect that even Natsu became smaller than mouse in her presence.

"Yes, I heard quite enough of it" She finally spoke in calm tone "and we have to discuss about something." Natsu nodded quickly to her words, if there was lump of coal stuck between his ass cheeks, it would be diamond by now and everyone had front row seat for this event. She quickly looked toward Lucy who felt portion of the fear from Natsu jump her the moment Erza's gaze fell on her.

"I hope this poor excuse for a student hasn't been bothering you" Erza said in soft tone, much more pleasant than one addressing Natsu "and if he has, I apologize on his behalf" she bowed deeply.

"N…no need, he hasn't been… um… bothering me." Lucy stuttered, still trying to comprehend this unseen force of nature that was waiting to burst.

"That is a relief" Erza offered a small grin and stood tall again, her hand reached for Natsu's arm, grabbing him just above his wrist and pulled hard as she turned in opposite direction "Come, Natsu!"

Natsu yelped, struggling to escape Erza's grasp but with no effort as her hand clutched his arm with such force he felt all blood would stop flowing to his hand. As they moved through the hall, students simply moved out of the way, allowing the duo to pass unopposed. For Lucy, this is yet another confusing moment as she couldn't understand if they did so out of respect or fear although it could have been both. She sighed, sending Natsu sympathetic look, even though he couldn't see it. She felt a little bit sorry for him seeing as he struggled to escape in fashion that a zebra tried to escape clutches of a lion. Gray simply wiped his forehead, removing few bits of sweat that were on it and let exhaled long through his mouth, a sign of relief while his hand pulled his own tie and loosened it up.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Lucy asked, holding her book on her chest and clutched it hard, cringing at the sight of Erza pushing Natsu into room and closed door behind them.

"Hm? Oh him? Well yes and no." Gray replied, focusing his attention to Lucy now that he could breathe again "Don't worry about him, she will yell at him, he will deny everything, she will press on, he will say something stupid and she will send him flying across the room and if he is lucky, only break few bones. Less important ones like skull or spine." He chuckled at this thought.

"But why is she going to do all that?" her eyes widened at Gray's words, feeling chills climb up her spine.

"You don't know?" Gray asked but instead of answer she just waved her head "Right, ummm… where to start. Erza is kind of old friend of ours, Natsu and mine that is."

"I see, that explains their closeness" Lucy nodded, beginning to place pieces of puzzle together in her head.

"Closeness? No no no that's her job."

"To beat him up?" She asked lifting her brow.

"To maintain order." Gray corrected any assumptions she might have had and continued "See, she is both student council president and part of the disciplinary committee, well one of the ten officers in charge of maintaining order inside college premises."

"She can be both?" Lucy seemed impressed as she was listening to Gray.

"Well, president is elected through process of voting. She became president this year for the first time and won by large margin. As for disciplinary committee, there is no voting, you become one if you beat one of the officers in hand to hand combat… and Erza beat all of them…" he shivered slightly, eyes squinted his lips trembled as memory of that day flashed before his eyes, row of officers lined one after another going after Erza who managed to defeat all of them, one by one until all were either down or out of the boxing ring in gym hall. Both Natsu and Gray have witnessed this occasion and both will always confirm that they got severe emotional traumas from that event.

"Theoretically you can be part of every single extracurricular activity available in college at same time," Gray quickly dismissed this thought and snapped back into the reality "but that is physically impossible as attendances are required for them all and most overlap each other in terms of scheduled meetings. Luckily, those two that Erza does can be done at the same time and by Mavis she is doing it well… On top of that she is even president of kendo club."

"Wow" Lucy remarked "I didn't know she was that dedicated."

"Dedicated?" he placed both hands on her shoulders, his eyes widened as much as it is possible "She is a monster! There is no way someone can do all that and be human!"

"Right" she tried to remain composed but the description made it difficult to comprehend. Her eyes looked toward Gray's hands that were holding onto her shoulders and he quickly released her, having both palms still open in apologetic manner for his abrupt action.

"You didn't know up until now?" Gray asked, his right hand moved to unbutton top two buttons of his shirt but as Lucy frowned he quickly buttoned them, with great amount of displeasure as he felt it was choking him. He kept looking at her, as if trying to notice something on her.

"No, I… didn't really didn't look into those things that much other than what I need to do for the grades."

"Oh right, Natsu mentioned that you are…" Gray said, his tone was higher than before but his voice disappeared all of a sudden, remembering that he should not reveal every detail as to why Natsu became interested.

"That I am what?" Lucy asked, frowning yet again at Gray

"That… you are… dedicated student." he quickly nodded in attempt to make himself at least a bit less suspicious, but alas, Lucy was not nearly that ignorant.

"He said I am a nerd." she said in low, annoyed tone.

"Yeah…" he confirmed in equally low tone "Anyway, not sure we got introduced, I'm Gray Fullbuster, you probably saw me at Sabertooth club. And in all honesty, you don't look that much different without all that make-up"

"Thanks, I guess. I'm Lucy." she smiled a bit "Oh hey, you are Juvia's boyfriend, right?"

"That's me" it was Gray's time to smile now.

"Wow, you look… different."

"Different from what?" his smile vanished quickly and he folded his arms.

"Well…" Lucy hesitated for a moment "Juvia talks a lot about you and the way she described you… well you look good, it's just… I expected you to look a bit more, dreamy."

"Dreamy?" he threw his head back and released a groan "Mavis, she always overreacts with that! Really I am surprised that people don't imagine me as 2.5m tall, silver skin and shooting ice from my eyes!"

"Hey be nice, she is good friend of mine!" Lucy giggled, feeling oddly relieved but also surprised as she realized she held conversation with another guy without having the need to just bolt out "Sooo, what is this about locker incident?"

"Oh that? Yeah, see, couple of days ago after shower he decided to do a little 'victory dance' in light of his success at practice match. He was dancing naked, doors opened, he didn't notice but coach did along with half a dozen girls. Give or take a few." With every word of that sentence he was trying to contain large grin from emerging on his face.

"You opened the door, didn't you?"

"Well he shouldn't gloat so much!" he finally surrendered and smiled wide.

"But he is in there, probably having his… bones broken because of it." Lucy protested but this sudden outburst quickly subsided as she remembered that she shouldn't care.

"He is not going to have his bones broken." Gray dismissed, waving both hand and head "Erza likes him too much to physically hurt him beyond few bruises."

"She likes him?"

"Not romantically, she likes him the way she likes me for example, we were always close and watched each other's back. Besides, outside of college she is like, really nice, you don't have to worry pissing her off. She just, likes her role enough to be serious about her job. Good career in government I guess." He turned and looked toward the door where Natsu and Erza went, even though he didn't want to admit he felt a bit worried about him but he didn't allow for it to show.

"Government?" Lucy asked, confused at what she heard.

"Yeah, look at record, every important figure that eventually reached the top in this country was part of Fairy Tail college and part of student council. They practically are giving you lessons on how to be politician and with almost absolute success. Although if... Erza ever reaches there and becomes minister, we might have to look out for mandatory 10 years military draft but not before she finishes entire course in 3 years… Like I said, monster!"

Lucy chuckled and as the bell rang she looked other way and then toward Gray, she didn't understand completely if this new found trust to talk with someone who isn't female. Perhaps it is because he was already taken or the fact that she might have involuntarily listened to Natsu's advice. One of few as matter of fact. She looked at him and yet again didn't feel the urge to run away, nor did she felt the disgust in her stomach despite the knowledge that he and Natsu are close friends. For that single moment, she began questioning if she might actually benefit from letting people come close, perhaps, just perhaps, not everyone are there to take advantage of her. But despite the lack of urge to run, she still needed to and the sound of bell confirmed this, her head turned toward classroom where she was to enter and where students started entering already.

"Right, I have to go now, it was nice talking to you Gray." She said with smile "And Juvia did say you were nice, so… I guess not everything was all made up." and with that she turned and walked away, leaving Gray where he stood.

"Yeah… it was nice talking to you too." Gray replied in silent, mostly for himself. He turned and saw the doors open and from that room Natsu emerged, closing doors behind and leaned against it. Gray walked over to him, handing him the bag that former forgot to bring due to Erza's tug. "So how did it go?"

"Worst day of my life!" he cried. The face of desperation and dread were present. Gray felt little bit of pity for the damage he caused him "But I survived your lame tackle, I survived Erza, this week can only be better."

Gray opened his mouth, he wanted to apologize or at least reveal culprit but the word 'lame' used in that sentence made him close his mouth and smile wide, enjoying the little bit of suffering Natsu had just endured.

"That bad huh?" he asked.

"I may have… made her consider buying equipment from early years of Inquisition" Natsu checked his bag, letting out hum before placing it over his shoulder "What were you doing in the meantime?"

"I had a talk with Lucy actually." Gray leaned against the wall, looking at Natsu, his smiling face slowly returned to neutral, lips straight and brows slightly furrowed "She seems nice though, you still plan to go through with your plan?"

"Hell yeah dude, I'll bed her, I made a promise, didn't I?" Natsu grinned wide, mischievously.

"Wasn't that a bet? Besides you already failed and you owe me a drink." Gray watched as couple of girls passed by, his eyes wandered on them up and down before looking back at Natsu "Look, I haven't seen you try this hard to get girl since…"

"No!" Natsu interrupted him, lifting his right hand and at the height of his face, index finger extended pointing at Gray "Don't even mention her, alright?"

"I am just saying" Gray continued despite Natsu's protest "You seem to be serious about this in your own… twisted way and she doesn't seem to be the girl that you usually go for. It's not gonna end well if all you want to achieve is casual one time sex."

Natsu frowned, he wasn't happy at what he was hearing, a little more and he would be growling like a mad dog but that didn't phased Gray one bit and his gaze turned from pleasant to a cold glare.

"This won't be that scenario." Natsu said in angry voice, lowering his right hand and a few moments later both of his hands were in his pockets "Is that why you talked to her? See if she'll be like her?"

"I did it because I asked Juvia about Lucy and she told me that Lucy is going through some rough period but I couldn't see it on her face. If she has shit going in her life, she is hiding it well."

"And you are not curious about it?"

"Not in the same way you are." Gray sighed again "Look I have to run before professor walks in. I am not gonna tell you what to do but I am just asking you to at least… think this through. Alright?"

With that sentence ended, Gray hit Natsu lightly on the shoulder with his fist and moved along, leaving him to his own thoughts. Natsu continued to frown, taking Gray's words in slowly and as if listening to him he began thinking about this entire plan of his. Was he going only after sex? Yes, there seemed no doubt about it. Thought that he could be the one to break her defenses and reaching up to her was almost intoxicating, a rush of adrenaline for a junky but he remembered the words of her going through rough time seem to have lingered. What could she be hiding, is what she said all that was wrong? _Perhaps_, he thought, _it's time to ask her._


	11. Queen of part time jobs

**A/N: This was rushed, this was long, this was... totally worth it. I did not see this coming. Ok I lie I am writing this so I saw this coming but I had to edit it a lot! Things will be getting a lot more complicated for our heroes after this chapter, and you will learn why if you read it to the end. I thank you all for your attention, I shall try to not fail your expectations!**

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Fortune smiled upon Lucy. Drama club went remarkably well considering how it could have ended. Professor Justine was very pleased with work Lucy and Natsu did and with it half point was added to Lucy's already existing one, a valuable one. All she needed to do now is wait for one or two more assignments, be active in the club and she will maintain her status. To her it was a relief, to Natsu, the successful resolution of this titanic task that was assignment was a chance to boast about his immense intelligence that Lucy did not see, but nevertheless it gave her few giggles. The same fortune smiled yet again as the mentioned pink-haired boy was faced with a great conundrum. On one hand there was his mandatory practice, on the other there was unique opportunity to follow Lucy to Sabertooth club for another shift. The thought of her emerging in that tight shirt with light make up that consisted of nothing more than eyeliner and pink lipstick and the smell of her perfume made his heart beat hard from excitement. A great conundrum indeed but his fortune ended where her began and a loud whistle from the hall was heard… coach Elfman spotted him and sent him to the locker-room. There was not much Lucy could do but giggle at this one-sided dominance that made Natsu run with tail between his legs. If only she could use that.

She left the college premises with a slight shiver that someone is watching her but no matter how hard she tried she could see no one whom she knew and yet so many would glance at her, be it as a mere bystander but she couldn't shake off the feeling. She dismissed idea quickly, knowing it is just going to worry her more if she keeps thinking about it and with bag in her hand and backpack over her shoulder, she headed straight to Sabertooth.

Lucy entered the club and went straight to the backrooms, changing into outfit and applying light makeup. She removed the rubber band that held her hair into ponytail and with brush straightened it down. One of few moments in her life when she didn't dread the sight in the mirror, in fact, for the first time she actually thought herself to be pretty. Perhaps it was the work done lately, perhaps it was the good day that started or perhaps, just perhaps, a certain idiot had something to do with her good mood. She couldn't tell, she didn't need to, it was a bit of everything.

Upon entering the main hall she noticed that instead of usual preparation for opening, girls were looking toward counter where Sting was standing with phone pressed against his ear. It was hard not to pay attention to as he was literally shouting at the phone, absolutely pissed at something but she could not know why until hearing what he was yelling.

"What do you mean he didn't do it?!" Sting shouted, starting to walk back and forth in front of counter while Rogue and Rufus stood by it, watching him nervously "Since when? Fucking 6 months?! You have to be shitting me! No no I'm sorry, I know it is not your fault but I am just pissed off right now…"

Lucy walked up to Orga who had his arms crossed, he was frowning heavily "What is going on?" she asked.

"Boss got some bad news…" He responded, nodding down to her slightly in form of greeting as he just noticed her.

"About what?" she asked but instead of hearing answer, Sting continued his argue over the phone.

"When is he coming? Today? Can't he come tomorrow? Because we won't be here! Just one day, come on it can't be that much of a hustle over one day? Fine fine fine we'll find a solution…"

"What's going on?" Rogue asked as Sting pressed finger on screen to end call.

"We got fucked up that's what's going on!" Sting shouted and sat on the stool at the bar.

"By who?" Rogue continued with questions.

"By Jiemma, that's who! Fucking idiot didn't pay taxes for six months! Remember when we barely made a profit and next month it went almost triple? That's when it started, fucker stopped pay taxes."

"Well we'll just pay what we owe and be done with it, what's the issue?" Rogue asked again.

"Problem is he didn't kept books in check… Second problem is that our records are chaos that we didn't solve yet due to books not being in order and not keeping track of profit and now we don't know how much we owe. And collector with police is coming today to make forced collection or… close the club if we don't pay."

"Today? Hold on, we are supposed to go to Crocus to finalize the deal, put our names in land registry, can't they come tomorrow?"

"Apparently not because third and final warning was sent two weeks ago and it was scheduled for forced collection to happen today. We either pay or we have our club closed… and we have no one to check our books."

"Son of a bitch…" Rogue exclaimed rubbing his forehead.

"Now it all makes sense… Why he sold us club for price that was under market value… he got the jewels, we got the bills and he is laughing at us I am going to BASH HIS SKULL OPEN!" he yelled loud, making girls slightly shiver.

"Can't you do it, boss?" Orga joined in the conversation "You are the smart one."

"I can but we are supposed to leave for Crocus in… 5 minutes ago and it's gonna take at least two hours to do it." Sting rubbed his face with both hands, feeling already mentally exhausted.

"I can do it." Voice came to Sting's ears who immediately stopped cursing silently and spread fingers, enough to look at the source of it and everyone else followed… they all stared at Lucy.

"What?" Sting asked, confused.

"I've dealt with such things before, as long as you kept receipts and at least wrote daily profit of the club… it's not difficult." She continued but her voice quickly died out as Sting rushed toward her and stood before her, looking down into her eyes.

"Have you really done that before?" He asked in much calmer tone.

"I had part time job as bookkeeper assistant several months ago when his wife went on maternity leave… He used to give me task of checking books of his clients for possible miscalculations… I can do it if you have all-…" She didn't manage to finish sentence as Sting's hands quickly grabbed Lucy by her shoulder, a bright spark appeared in his eyes.

"You just saved our lives miss!" He said cheerfully

"Sting, a moment…" Rogue quickly interjected and walked around the bar, pulling Sting away from Lucy and spoke in more silent tone "Are you sure about this?"

"Do you have another plan to solve this problem?"

"No… but, relying on waitress?"

"Look, we can either stay here and deal with tax collector and miss to sign the contract for another three months or we can go and finalize contract but have our club close down. The way I see it, we are already in deep shit and if we miss today, Jiemma will gather OUR profit for himself for another three months and we won't be able to deny him that."

"What if you stay to deal with books while I go and deal with legal matter at Crocus?" Rogue asked, skeptical at Sting's plan.

"You forget that both of us are parties in the contract as partners, I need to either be there in person or have my legal representative, whom I cannot find at this moment and you cannot be mine because you are already party in the contract. We can either trust Lucy to deal with this, worst case scenario… she overpays it or underpays it, they return, we pay that with interest as fine, club stays open."

"Alright, you made your point, we trust the college waitress." Rogue grunted, displeased at the situation but he knew there was no other option. Sting walked to Lucy again "Orga will show you way to office and books with receipts and everything else needed."

With small relief they left the club and entered their car. It didn't took long for Rogue to yet again express his concern "I still don't think this was a good idea."

"Wasn't it you who hired her?" Sting chuckled.

"She came with strong recommendation" he quickly replied looking away.

"Mhm, and who recommended her?" Sting asked, having wide grin on his face.

"Gajeel…"

"Man you are such a fangirl!" Sting laughed loud. "You didn't even bother questioning her, the moment he came to you asking for favor you got all giddy. Don't look at me like that I was 2 meters away from you, I saw everything."

"That doesn't change the fact that we are giving her complete insight in our finances."

"Relax will you? We have no other choice so no reason to worry over it. Let's do best we can where we can, alright?"

"Fine."

* * *

Back at the Sabertooth club, Lucy was already sitting at the office, waiting for Orga to bring papers. She was anxious, unsure why she even said out loud that she could do it. It wasn't a lie but all she wanted was peaceful shift, as much as club can offer and now… now she is sitting there, hoping that it is not as big of a chaos as Sting made it sound. She became nervous and soon, large teal-haired guard entered office, in one hand carrying more financial books than she ever saw in her life. Could they be so busy?

"Alright, these are all there is for the past six months, I checked dates so…." he placed large stack on the table and nodded at her, as if feeling the pain that she currently experienced from a single glance of the stack.

She blinked few times before taking first book and started going through pages, her eyes quickly caught on a certain pattern that she didn't understood. "What is _special service_ that keeps repeating?" She asked, looking up at giant.

"Ummm... See, before Sting and Rogue took over, this place was still nightclub but previous boss offered his best clients some 'special service' in form of… umm… sexual pleasures."

"Was that even legal?" Lucy asked, shocked at what she heard and Orga waved head.

"Not exactly, it was all done behind the curtains. But don't worry, new bosses made big changes, good changes. Now waitresses are not to be touched. That's why I am here." He grinned down at Lucy who smiled back but felt uncomfortable as she couldn't deduce is Orga looked like gentle giant or predator.

"That's going to be hard to label… We'll call it 'entertainment'."

"We could use pattern like in one of those coffee shops with the uniforms."

"You mean like maid café?" Lucy asked glancing up from the books which she quickly flipped one by one to see density of inputs.

"Yeah yeah, they bring you coffee and do a little dance and stuff."

"I know, I used to work in one. The rest should be okay, it won't be easy but I think I can manage this in couple of hours." Lucy nodded toward Orga who returned the nod

"I'll make sure no one disturbs, yell if you need anything." he said left the office, closing the doors behind him. She sighed, heavily and took first book from the stack. In that moment she realized that despite it being quite the amount of it, it was nothing she didn't already work with before. Lucy closed eyes and took long breath, calming herself before she began filling everything in.

* * *

Natsu was not pleased. He could barely focus on his game, missing several catches that were otherwise easy for him and even if he would to catch a ball Gray would appear, again almost out of nowhere, to slam him down into the ground. There was something stuck at the back of his head, something that prevented him from keeping his eye on the ball, little nagging worm that kept drilling deeper into his brain, casting doubt in his plans. His mind wandered to another time, previous time and another girl and it was enough to lose attention to his surrounding. Yet again, Gray was there to punish him for his mistakes. Two seconds later he was back down on the ground, lying on his back with Gray standing beside.

"Now _that_ was lame" Gray chuckled gathering his breath, looking down at Natsu who groaned from pain.

"Fuck you!" Natsu spoke through gritted teeth.

"Dragneel!" voice came from other side of the court, it was angry, very angry "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry coach." Natsu stood up with a little help from Gray.

"Don't you 'sorry coach' me, what the hell is going on with you?" Elfman stood in front of Natsu, towering over him, arms crossed and eyes ready to kill.

"Just tired, coach" he responded.

"Then get your tired ass on the bench and clear your head cause you are embarrassing yourself! You are on cleaning duty!" Elfman yelled down and took whistle, signaling for reset.

"Man he is pissed at you. Are really got that tired?" Gray asked walking with Natsu toward the bench.

"Had a lot of work for the drama club and that assignment with Lucy, didn't sleep and… Erza's interrogation on top, that makes one hell of a day." Natsu took his helmet off and sat on the bench, stretching his legs, Gray sat beside him.

"Well someone might bring your mood up." Gray said after looking behind both of them.

"What do you mean?"

"Natsu!" high pitched female voice reached them both and now the one being called turned.

"Looks like Jenny is in right spirit, wonder who raised it for her" Gray chuckled but quickly straightened his face as she approached. He looked away the very moment she leaned to kiss him and Natsu did not object to it.

"So, what does your schedule sound for the rest of the day? I got some plans for us."

"Yeah, I'm gonna be a bit busy at home, have to help sis with her homework, gonna be long one."

"Didn't you pl-" Gray started but he immediately stopped as he felt Natsu's fist connect on his right sidejust above hip "I mean, yeah I heard you planned that." He corrected his sentence, frowning from the punch… _Asshole._

"Oh, well how about tomorrow?" She asked, not noticing Gray's reaction.

"Tomorrow should be fine." Natsu answered and she leaned forward to kiss him again.

"Alright, see you tomorrow then." Jenny responded and gave him a wink, walking away.

"Man you are such a liar." Gray chuckled, quickly covering the same side with hand.

"I completely forgot about her."

"Dude, I know you are not gonna take me seriously bit at least chose, alright?"

"Don't start that, come on Gray we are supposed to watch each other's back!" Natsu looked down at Gray who was still sitting, pinkette was starting to be angry while the other remained cool "Don't switch sides now."

"I am on your side, Natsu." Gray responded, standing up to match him in height "Look, we went through this before, I watched you score every girl you had your eyes on and it was a pretty good deal. They knew what they were getting into, you had fun, they had fun, it ended with that… a fling, couple of booty calls and move on. But this?"

"What about this?" Natsu asked, moving closer to Gray's face.

"Lucy just doesn't look like the girl that is in for one night stand… if you manage to get to her and she doesn't respond well to you running away in the morning… well she is gonna get hurt and in turn, you will be. I just don't want to see you go through that."

"What makes you think I will be hurt?"

"Any man who can make girl cry, and I mean really cry, and not care about it is by definition worst possible human being. You are an asshole, don't get me wrong you can be one, but you are not _that_ kind of guy." Gray raised his hand and gently punched Natsu's chest before running off to the field, leaving Natsu with his own thoughts.

* * *

"Next time I see him, I will knock every tooth out of his smug prick mouth!" Sting clenched his teeth and rubbed his face with both hands as they entered Sabertooth. Evening came and club began to gather crowd. Their final encounter with Jiemma was as stressful as it can be as he subtly reminded them of all the issues club had at the time he sold it to them. He didn't even hid the fact that he knew when tax collector would come which made Sting almost snap at him. Still with Rogue's intervention they avoided incident and they signed final transfer documents… Sabertooth was completely theirs now.

"Look, all papers are signed, he got money, we got the club, if he shows up we'll throw him out and be done with it." Rogue tried to reassure Sting who stopped walking as soon as they entered.

"Fucking hell… Where is Orga? Orga!" Sting shouted and then whistled loud and within seconds towering man came to them "How did it go?"

"No problems boss, man came, checked books, saw everything is in order, girl even managed to somehow convince him that payment will be given tomorrow along with interest for being late. Everything is in order." Orga reported.

"You're kidding me…" Rogue joined in conversation, shocked at what he just heard.

"No, boss. Everything went smooth." Orga replied

"Tell Rufus to bring me my usual along with orange juice and then tell Lucy to deliver it, I'll be at our table." Sting ordered and Orga simply nodded, moving toward the bar "I can't believe she pulled it off…"

Lucy was exhausted, struggling to keep smile up and not show that she would much rather just collapse somewhere and sleep for weeks, yet her motivation kept her on feet and going. She was still big hit in the club, other waitresses were solid, some more beautiful but there was something in Lucy that separated her from the rest and customers were more keen to have her deliver drinks and she received hefty amount of tips in return. _Just a few more hours_ she thought. She walked toward the bar as she saw Rufus beckon for her.

"Bring this to boss at table over there." He nodded in the direction where Sting was sitting and she took the tray, bringing it over to Sting.

"Perfect, sit." He smiled wide and closed the book, Lucy recognized it as one where records were rewritten by her.

"Ummm I still have a lot of customers to serve." She responded, trying to hold her entire act together.

"Other girls will take it over, you sit." He patted cushion of couch beside him and this time she sat beside. His hand reached for glass of juice and handed it to her.

"I am not supposed to drink during shift…" Lucy looked at him, reluctantly taking the glass.

"Which is why that orange juice is for you." Sting chuckled and took his glass and sipped long from it. "Orga told me you did remarkable job with our books."

"He said that?"

"Well he said things went smooth but, knowing that Jiemma didn't care much about keeping records, I imagine it was chaos and sorting that out is a remarkable feat. You almost single handedly saved our club."

"I really didn't do that much." She felt a more uncomfortable, taking small sip from the glass.

"Are we gonna argue about this? Because I just had this great turnover from shittiest day of my life to absolutely brilliant one. Which leads me to talk to you about your current job."

"Okay…" she shifted a bit on her seat, fearing of what he may say at the mention of her working here.

"Thing is, you work here as part timer which is really ungrateful kind of job and you are not bound by contract. I looked at what you did and you got it right to single jewel. It will be waste of talent if you work as waitress so… I am offering you full time job in Sabertooth."

"Wow… umm…" she stuttered "That's great offer but I can't take it."

"Why not? Fixed payment, better than what you'll find in most other places, flexible hours, you just need to overlook finances and work with our staff."

"I know but…" she hesitated but continued "I still have to finish college and I need that degree. With time I have now I wouldn't be able to work full time every day."

"Well that puts me in bad place." Sting chuckled "How else am I going to reward you?"

"Can I keep this one? Four times per week works well for me and I really can't afford to lose any of jobs I have now."

"Done! Anything else?"

"That's more than enough." She finally smiled.

"I still think your talent will go to waste if you keep working as waitress… you are way too cute to be doing that. If you need anything let me know, alright?"

She nodded and after another sip from her glass she stood up and returned to serving customers. It was a small victory, having one less worry. Job was a lot more exhausting, walking from table to bar and between tables, it tired her plenty, even more on days when she had to fit in college and work but at very least pay was good enough to keep her less strained over monthly expenses. Customers were mostly nice, having 'nice' being tied to those sober ones. Worst of the worst were those who were into touching way too much than it was allowed and one of such cases decided to occur.

"Well hello there cutie." Young man in suit said as he leaned a bit over the table. He wasn't older than 30, oiled hair, smooth lines on face, on first glance he appeared like genuine gentleman.

"Good evening, what can I get you?" Lucy smiled wide, holding tray with her hands in front, enough to show more of her 'upper charms'.

"How about you give me yourself?" he asked.

"I am sorry I am not on the menu but we got good selection of drinks." _Great another Natsu, just what I needed_ she thought.

"Come on sweetness, I can pay you well for just one night." Man smiled, reaching with hand in inner pocket of his jacket, bringing out quite thick roll of money.

"I'll come later when you decide." She turned to leave but his hand landed on her shoulder, holding tight. Her stomach instantly turned and she swallowed hard, all she wanted now was to try and run.

"It's very rude to refuse a good customer you know." His voice changed, being less flirty and more annoyed, obviously not happy about being rejected.

"And it's shitty to force girl that says no." Another voice came from beside and Lucy's eyes widened, for the second time she was happy to hear it. Natsu was everything but pleased at this guy's action and he grabbed his arm, one that held Lucy's shoulder and pulled it away from her.

"And who the fuck are you?"

"Someone who is reminding you not to touch what is not yours."

"Slut is yours then?"

Natsu smiled wide, his mind snapped and within next second his other hand balled into fist and was sent in man's stomach. He bowed from pain, letting out a groan but Natsu was not done, he took him by the neck and slammed his head hard against the table. Another groan was heard and man fell down on the floor. All the time Lucy was watching in both shock and terror, taking a step back from this chaos. Crowd around them suddenly dispersed in wide circle, watching as man was rolling down on the floor, holding his now broken nose with both hands, cursing Natsu loud but he did not care one bit. Instead he looked at Lucy "You alright?" he asked and she nodded, still trying to compose herself.

"What the hell is going on here?" Sting came quickly, standing in front the man on the ground, he looked at Natsu and then toward Lucy.

"He tried to buy her for night and fuck her that's what" Natsu responded, looking down, trying to find another excuse to hit the sod. Sting looked toward Lucy trying to see if she would confirm it and despite her not being fine with Natsu's choice of words, she nodded. Sting whistled and Orga came over, taking man out.

"Take rest of the night off" Sting said to Lucy "I'll tell rest of the girls to cover for you. And… thanks Natsu, I guess I owe you one."

They left, both of them, Lucy still in her Sabertooth uniform and other bag holding her regular clothes while Natsu had his usual "rebel" clothes. It took her a while to finally calm her thoughts and as she did she noticed that not only was she walking home but Natsu was going with her.

"Why are you following me?" She asked

"Come on I just saved you from a fucking pervert, don't I get a little credit?" He asked.

"Yeah… sorry, just… I guess… *sigh* thanks." She managed to say it, much to his pleasure. They were approaching park and she looked at the bench and she sat on it, still silent, watching down at her own shadow made by the street lamp. It was exhausting day, drained her completely both physically and now mentally and even for Natsu it was not hard to tell but instead of boasting like he initially intended, he decided to be silent and he sat down beside her.

"It's not long from my house I can walk alone." She leaned back on bench, barely managing to keep her eyes open.

"Like hell I am leaving you to walk alone at night!" he responded "No need to thank me for it, I'll do it pro bono."

"It's been a really long day, let's just rest here for a bit" her voice was tired, trembling as she was barely keeping herself awake.

"You know I never did it on the bench but if that turns you on, who am I to judge?" Natsu chuckled, waiting for her to say anything but there was no reply from her. He felt slight pressure on his shoulder and he quickly turned his head to look at Lucy. She leaned her head against it and in that moment he felt his heart beat faster. Things seem to be working well in his favor, she might start trusting him. She might open up to him. She might be... _asleep_. He moved hand in front of her eyes and waved few times to make sure he saw it right. Lucy indeed fell asleep, right on the bench beside him, having her head leaned against his shoulder.

His cheeks slightly reddened, barely noticeable in this darkness but he felt them burn. Her breathing was silent but rhythmic, gentle… unlike the ones he usually heard that came after sex, hard and loud… this was a different one, new one for him. She was indeed, very different kind of girl and Gray's words repeated itself in his head. Can one girl really make that big impact on him?

Natsu was tempted, there were so many things he could do. He could take picture and blackmail her into giving him a kiss, he could finally take a good feel of her more than exotic breasts or thighs… So why isn't he? Instead, he is just letting her sleep there, on his shoulder and he is doing nothing but playing her pillow. He was nervous, his foot began tapping on the concrete park path but he stopped after no more than five seconds. Why? Because he noticed that from that sound, he could not hear her breathing, and he wanted to listen to it.

Ten minutes passed, fifteen, she is not waking up, sleeping comfortably right there beside him. Perhaps it would be best to take her home but he knew not where she lives. He could take her to his home… there would be no excuse in world good enough to explain why he did that and she would more than likely just stop trusting him, even if it is as little as it is now. Time for drastic measures.

He slowly took bag from her lap and opened it, keeping his eyes on her to notice if she would wake up. From it he took her phone and started looking through contacts, there has to be someone he could call. _So few contacts…_ he thought but he began going through, stopping at one labeled only as Idiot. _Well that one is me, I don't even need to check number_ he grinned wide and moved on but what caught his attention is one before that one, one named Home. _Why would someone living alone have home number, who would call her?_ _Maybe she is not living alone_. He decided to dial it anyway, better than sleeping on bench, that is for sure. After several rings phone picked up and he was surprised at the elderly voice he heard.

"Hello?" older woman asked.

"Yeah is this Lucy's house?"

"It is, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, ummmm… she had long day at work." he said, not knowing a full extent of what happened before but it sounded logical "Can you tell me where you are located so I can bring her. She fell asleep."

"Oh dear…" her voice sounded worried "house is at Green Terrace street, number 18."

"Got it, I know where that is." Natsu finished and ended the call. Now it was all about method of bring her to house. Call a cab? He didn't bring enough money with him this time and it would be pretty lame to take some from Lucy. Only one option was left to him.

He slowly stood up and leaned down in front of her, managing to put her on his back, arms hang over his shoulders and legs around his waist. Remarkably, she wasn't as heavy as he thought and with slow but steady pace he walked. It didn't take him long to realize how close she was and the blush returned. She was pressed against his back, her head rested on his shoulder, close to his cheek and her scent filled his nose… This is indeed different girl, one that gave him such difficult time to focus.

Ten minutes later and he reached the intersection that led to Green Terrace Street. Now it was just matter of finding the number of the house. As he found number 18 he walked to it and knocked with his hand quickly before returning it under Lucy's leg to hold her. Doors opened and woman looked at Natsu.

"Dear me, poor child…" she placed her hand over mouth.

"Good evening ma'am, just gonna drop her in her room… ummm… where is her room?"

"Upstairs to the right." Woman pointed toward stairs and Natsu entered the house. He couldn't take good look but it seemed a lot smaller than house he lived in. He was however confused over the fact that this elder woman was in Lucy's house. _A relative? But she said she doesn't live with relatives._ He reached top of the stairs and slowly entered the room. In the dark he recognized bed and he slowly placed Lucy on it, taking moment or two to catch a bit of breath. If only he could stay here a bit more, or for different reason. Even in dark she somehow looked different to him, usually she was on the run from him but now, she was so peaceful, dreaming the dream of righteous.

Natsu moved toward the door and just as he was about to leave he heard a noise and soon after, another one. He was certain it was not one Lucy would make, this one was high pitched. His head turned toward the source of the noise and his eyes recognized the object from which it came from, object he didn't notice right up until now. A wooden cradle… and a gentle cry came from it.


	12. Answers for him

**A/N: Two chapters in two days! That happens when I get too motivated... Maybe I should do this more often. Anyway I decided to give Igneel bit more time to be seen, complete his character and influence on Natsu... but that is for you to read. I am also glad that I managed to surprise some of you with the twists, honestly I thought it was too easy to see. I thank you all for your time in reading my story. More will come, bigger things and twists.**

* * *

Darkness dispersed from Lucy's eyes and she began noticing where she is. Ceiling, chandelier… to the right there is curtain… she knows that one, familiar, to the left, doors, cradle. _I am in my room_, good she thought to herself. She slowly sat up and took small mirror that was standing on coffee table beside bed to look at herself. Her hair was sticking in almost every direction, all tangled and messy while her make-up was smeared, mostly around her lips and a bit around eyes.

"Mavis I look l like a scarecrow…" she said quietly and sighed, moving head from side to side to stretch her neck. Another bad night but something bugged her. Last thing she remembered was that guy hitting on her, then Natsu hit him… "Oh…" she realized what happened and what followed. They left Sabertooth, that she remembers clearly but how did she got home? The very thought gave her headache and she groaned a bit. With other hand she reached for the alarm clock and brought it to her eyes, trying to recognize numbers.

"11:45…" she mumbled, took her three seconds to fully comprehend the gravity of it "Oh shit!" she cried and rushed out of the room then down the stairs where older lady was setting up the table.

"Oh good morning dear." She smiled wide, showing her usual warmth on face.

"I can't stay, already late, I'll be lucky if I catch last class of the day." Lucy groaned and tried to straighten her hair "You should have woke me up."

"I wanted, but your friend told me not to." Elizabeth replied.

"What friend?" Lucy suddenly stopped and looked her direction.

"I didn't caught his name, he had black shirt and pants, chains hanging from his belt…"

_Ok that could be Gajeel, was he the one who brought me home? But I didn't see him all day…_

"Wild spiky hair…"

_That sounds like Gajeel, maybe he picked me up somewhere_ she thought, taking small sigh of relief.

"Oh and it was pink, I never saw a young man with pink hair."

Every fiber in Lucy's body was screaming at the scenarios that could have happened and suddenly a small flash came before her eyes. She remembered Natsu following her to the bench and that is where her memory stops. Did he do something to her while she was asleep? Was she unconscious to a point of being unable to wake up? Maybe he did something to her to put her to sleep, did he forced himself on her? _Oh Mavis what if he raped me!?_ Every scenario from that point on was darker than previous one, she knew well that Natsu would not take no for an answer but she had no time to think rationally… her phone started ringing, it wasn't in her bag, but rather, right there on dining table. She took it and looked at the screen having name Idiot on it. Reluctantly she swept over the screen and brought phone to her ear both anxious and afraid of what she may hear.

"He-llo?" Lucy stuttered a bit.

"Heeeey you are awake! Good that means old lady did as I told her, say thanks to her ok?" Natsu said, obviously cheerful but Lucy was no less nervous.

"What did you tell her?" she almost screamed.

"I told her not to wake you up, I managed to pull some strings here and got friends of yours to take notes for you so I'll bring you for them. Actually you might want to hear that in person." His voice disappeared and after few seconds of random noises another one reached her.

"Lulu?"

"Levy!" Lucy quickly said finally having a little bit of relief.

"Lulu what happened? Natsu said you were molested? Is that true?" Levy sounded worried.

"What?" she raised voice "I was not molested!" _I think_ "He is just overreacting"

"I'm glad" Levy let a long sigh of relief "I got some notes and gathered few from classes you are in, he said he'll bring it to you. I hope you are okay…"

"I am fine, just… long day I will tell you everything when I see you."

"Do you work today?" Natsu again took the phone, making Lucy's stomach jump.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have shifts today, after college?" He repeated.

"No, I have free day today…" she replied reluctantly.

"Alright, meet me at that sweet shop you work at… 14 got it? Oh and… come alone…" he chuckled behind the line making Levy practically shout at him at which he replied with _I'm joking I'm joking_.

"Idiot…" Lucy said silently.

"But seriously, I'll meet you there today and we should talk. Gotta go, big ass punk-machine saw me."

Call ended and Lucy was left with little more comfort than what she started with before the call. There was still the bug that drilled her stomach, leaving uneasy feeling and many questions left unanswered. Maybe he didn't see her. With her appetite completely eradicated by this call she made her way into the bathroom for a long shower. As she removed her clothes she looked down, biting her lower lip and decided to check… Maybeshe is overthinking. Carefully she moved fingers, slowly, inspecting herself carefully. It seemed in order but then again Natsu is not complete idiot and someone of his preceding reputation would always carry a condom. That still didn't change the fact that if he did something to her, she could barely live with herself.

One long shower after and she went to her room, picking out cleaner clothes, something a bit more comfortable than she wore previous night, simple white T-shirt, jeans, rubber band to keep her hair neatly tied and with that she finally came down for now very late breakfast.

"That boy told me you had troubles at work." Elizabeth took seat at the opposite side of the table.

"It was nothing I didn't expect but he probably exaggerated…" Lucy finished eating her eggs and wiped her lips with paper napkin.

"Doesn't mean you should be working in such place."

"It pays good, better than rest so I cannot afford to lose that one." Lucy rubbed her forehead, headache was still strong. After a short while a cry was heard.

"She is awake." Elizabeth said and was prepared to stand up but Lucy raised her hand.

"No, no, I'll handle it, I haven't seen her all day yesterday." Lucy rose and took bottle that was subdued in warm water. She walked upstairs and into the room, taking baby out of the cradle and sat on the bad, letting out soft smile as she stared drinking milk.

* * *

On the other side of the town Natsu was laying on his bed, patiently waiting for the time to come and for him to go see Lucy. Classes ended, he came home just in time to change and gather his thoughts so now all that is left is to wait. He couldn't completely make sense of this situation and questions piled one after another. He was sure of two things. First, that was a cradle and when he looked inside there was a baby, maybe a year old, couldn't be more but then again how many babies did he see outside of movies and internet? The second thing is that Lucy did well to hide it from him so there must be a reason. He was just as anxious about this but perhaps for a bit different reasons. Part of him wanted so badly to know what was all this about, while other part wondered if this would change anything.

Natsu sat up, he was completely still like a statue, only his eyes wandered around as his own train of thought left the station. _What if that is her baby? Who would be father? Did he die? Maybe he left her. Maybe there is no father, like one of those insemination things but those things are expensive, plus she is college student._ His foot started tapping nervously on the ground. For some reason he really wanted to get along with Lucy and it bugged him. He groaned and fell back on the bed, covering his face with both hands.

"Come on!" he growled "If it was any other chick with a baby beside her bed I would be runnng for the hills! Those chicks are trouble!" He sat up again, not sure which direction he wanted to go "So am I wanting to know more about this? Damn you Lucy what the hell have you done to me?!"

"Natsu-nii?" Wendy's voice could be heard from other side of the door.

"It's open!" he shouted. Wendy entered room and closed doors behind her and walked over to bed.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, sitting beside him.

"Yeah just… I am thinking about someone." He responded, looking up at ceiling "Can't shake the feeling that there is something… deeper in this."

"Is it about a girl?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah…"

"Maybe Natsu-nii fell in love?" She tilted her head, having slight grin on her face.

"Wait, what? No!" he quickly sat up.

"Did Natsu-nii kiss her already?" She continued with her small inquisition.

"No I…" he stopped and looked at her, narrowing his eyes "You are spending too much time with your friends!" he chuckled at how fast she began connecting dots.

"Sooo who is she?" Wendy pressed on.

"Well she is… someone you won't get to hear about." He chuckled and Wendy just puffed her cheeks, annoyed at his dodges.

Natsu stood up from his bed and took light jacket, fixing his hair with hands only sufficient to make it look not as messy as it could be. Black jeans, red shirt and matching summer jacket, he needed nothing more to give him boost in both ego and spirit. He walked down the stairs.

"I need to go, will be back later." He said, looking toward living room where Igneel was following his daily routing of reading newspapers, Gran was nowhere to be seen.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be 'hitting the club' as you say?" Igneel tilted his newspaper looking at Natsu through his glasses.

"Not going to club" he responded, taking another look at mirror by the door to check himself.

"Natsu-nii is going to see his girlfriend!" Wendy shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Oh…" Igneel returned his gaze toward papers "And which one would be now?"

"No one, Wendy, shut up please!" Natsu turned to send angry glare at Wendy who didn't seem to be even little bit frightened by the fiery look.

"Natsu-nii fell in love!" She said again in higher tone, making Natsu widen eyes _little gremlin is gonna make things worse!_

Igneel quickly tilted his papers again and looked at Natsu, this time he was genuinely shocked "Come again?"

"Nothing she is just… kids stuff, don't let her hang out with friends… Wendy, one more word and no homework-help from me for a month!" Natsu threatened her before he rushed out of the house, leaving Igneel in state of complete confusion and not long after silver-haired woman stood right beside him, just as shocked, just as confused.

"Did I heard well? Natsu fell in love?"

"By Mavis, there just might be some hope for the boy." Igneel concluded.

14 o'clock. Lucy was already sitting in the shop, tapping nervously with her foot as she stared at the door. Two minutes after, doors opened and pink haired idiot in question has showed himself, needing little time to search for Lucy. He approached and sat on opposite end of the table, having only a sly grin on his face, more relaxed than he initially thought he would be. Lucy on the other side was fixed on his eyes, glaring with intent of burning through back of his skull. Of course she was angry but that anger was there mostly to cover the fear that twisted her guts into knot. _He looks way too relaxed_ she thought _He definitely did something_. Ten seconds of complete silence was broken with cute waitress coming to the table with smile as wide as she can pull.

"Soooo what can I get you today? Lu?" She asked, holding tray in front of her with both hands.

"Oh right, ummm I tried vanilla last time, give me one of those coconut cakes" he pointed with finger toward it.

"One coconut cake, what about you Lu?"

"Coffee" Lucy replied almost instantly, still looking at Natsu.

"Coming right up!"

"Ok I am having a slight feeling you are trying to kill me with that look of yours." Natsu finally broke the tension and looked at Lucy.

"What did you do last night?"

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, lifting eyebrow up.

"Don't pull that crap on me!" Lucy leaned forward "Did you do something to me?"

"Lucy," now he leaned forward, smug grin completely disappeared and he showed a face she never saw one before, one where his eyes were just as piercing as hers a moment ago "You can think what you want about me but when you and I have sex you will be awake, not unconscious on bed, I may be idiot but I am not sleazebag." Lucy leaned back, at very least he didn't do anything to her and she felt less dirty.

"So, how about we start over hmm?"

"Why did you do it? Last night, that guy… why did you hit him?"

"He was gonna force you into sex or worse." Natsu responded, leaning back aswell.

"Orga was there, he would have acted!" Lucy retorted.

"Two things Luce… First, he was nowhere to be seen around until Sting called for him and second, by the time he would come to you the creep would have got a good feel of your body. You know what I am thinking." He nodded down, indicating at her breasts that even T-shirt couldn't hide well… she moved both arms and crossed them to cover. "In my book if you have to force a girl just to get a boner you don't deserve to have working nose."

"So what is it that you were doing so far?"

"Hold on a second, I may have done some… wordy stuff but I never forced myself on you! That is way below my code." Natsu frowned again.

"Oh you have a code?" Lucy snorted, almost amused at this sentence.

"Yes I have a code and that code says you don't touch girl that says 'no'. So, I had to intervene, given the chance I would do it again only this time I'd break his jaw instead of nose. I may have been a little… fucking absolutely livid to calculate how much I wanted to break on him."

Lucy looked down, her gaze finally broke from his. She didn't know what to think of this, this… strange, unique Natsu-like chivalry if it could ever be called one. He attacked another guy because of her, broke his nose because of her… he stood up for her, something she almost never saw anyone do for her. Perhaps, just perhaps… she could have been wrong about him.

"Let's start over with 'Thank you Natsu' and we move with our date." He smiled wide at her.

Or perhaps she is not wrong and he was just dying find excuse and do this dance again. _Idiot…_ she smiled faintly, taking coffee that was just delivered and took a sip.

"Fine. Thank you Natsu." She repeated her tone may have been a bit childish and mocking but it sounded very cute, much to his pleasure. But that didn't diminish the fact that there are still a lot more questions left to be answered. "So what else did you want to know? I take it you came for that."

"Hmm? Oh no I actually just wanted to be on date with you." He said after taking a bite of coconut cake, her eyes widened "I actually meant to come later at your house and ask you about few things but since you mentioned. I have two questions. First is… what is the deal?"

"What deal?" She took another sip of her coffee, trying to keep her stomach from imploding.

"You know what deal." He said in lower tone, serious one as he waved with his spoon.

"You… saw Michelle… didn't you?" She asked… the prayer that he did not notice hasn't come true and he nodded. She could avoid the answering this, find whatever reason to circle around it but… he saved her.

"Michelle is, my younger sister."

"Isn't she a little too young to be your sister? Usually age difference is up to five years, ten at best… not twenty."

Lucy placed her cup down, swallowing hard. Her hands were placed on her lap and she looked at table for long time before saying anything "I was my father's disappointment after high school. He couldn't comprehend the idea of me trying to go in school I wanted and he always kept me in check, letting me go only where he wanted, when he wanted. But after he saw that I outgrew the point where he could continue to control me he decided to have another child, son preferably to continue his… line. Unfortunately, he got a daughter. I moved out of the house and got into Fairy Tail University, rented house that you saw yesterday."

Natsu stopped eating his cake, holding spoon in his mouth. Cheerful grin slowly disappeared. "But, one misfortune demands another" she continued "Last year, my mother and father died. Social services sent Michelle to me as closest living relative. I was 20, classified as adult and able to raise a child. Problems started there since I was already studying and I could no longer afford to live with just two part time jobs… I had to get more. I got four, went to classes in the morning and to work after that, every day, work days and weekends. Michelle is now my only family. You saw Elizabeth, she is old friend of the family who accepted to work for… minimal and laughable wage, heavens know how grateful I am for that because I couldn't make time for Michelle myself."

"What about adoption?" Natsu asked, still having spoon in his mouth. Lucy jumped up and leaned forward to him, glaring with her big brown eyes, ready to kill again. He flinched, pulling back.

"You really think I would do that to her? To just send her away to someone whom I do not know nor if they would treat her well? Not every family is nice Natsu!"

"Ok ok, I'm sorry just… put the glare down, nice and easy…" he smiled nervously as she moved back on her seat.

"I was asked about giving her into adoption but I couldn't… I just couldn't."

"I understand…" Natsu said in soft, quiet voice.

"I didn't lie to you that time, Natsu." She looked into her cup, spotting reflection inside dark liquid "I am barely managing everything as it is… to have boyfriend in life is… I won't be able to make it."

"Luce, boyfriends are not just a baggage you know, most of the time they are there to share the load."

"You would suggest yourself, but you are in college yourself. You have your reputation, dating beautiful students, your motivation is sex… my motivation is… trying to tie all ends together and hope tomorrow is going to be better. I can either sacrifice my studies or rest of my life… I need this degree, I need to have better job because I cannot raise Michelle on part time jobs, if she is to have better life than me, I need to be able to pay for it."

"Alright, then let me help you a little bit on that load." He pointed with his spoon toward Lucy who sighed deeply again and groaned "As a friend." He finally finished, making her look at him.

"You do realize that in that case sex is off the table." She asked, crossing her arms again.

"I do" _Wait what the hell am I saying?_

"And you are okay with it? Knowing we can't and won't date?"

"I am" _Shut up shut up shut up shut up!_

"Very well I will… trust you." She sighed deeply "Knowing I am going to regret it… What was the second question?"

"Why did you hide it?"

"I didn't, you never asked, I never said."

"No no, you told me you don't have any relatives, that was a lie, so spill it… why hide?" Natsu leaned forward, his face was easily half way across the table.

"Do you know how it is when someone pities you? It is worst feeling you can imagine… the look in people's eyes when you tell them you are living with baby sister whom you are trying to raise on your own. At first you think they will understand the burden, maybe someone help even if it is just a little but…I already got burnt on it… trusted people I shouldn't… I can't do it again."

"I won't hurt you Lucy." He said, frowning slightly.

"I wish I could believe that." Lucy smiled sadly, moving hand to grab her cup but before she reached it he stopped her, holding her by wrist. She was shocked, uneasy, trying to yank it out of his grasp but he was far stronger than her… already thinking worst that could happen and it did. He pulled her hand and placed it on his chest. Slight blush filled her cheeks as she looked at him, feeling his heart beat under her palm.

"I swear, by my own life, this _idiot_ is never going to do anything that will hurt you." He was serious, looking straight into her eyes but instead of feeling more at ease she was even more uncomfortable. His gaze, warmth of his hand and the rhythmic beat of his heart, all made her feel heat gather in her own head. Before she could find any words to say he released her hand and stood up, opening his walled and placing several bills, more than enough to pay for his cake and coffee. "It was nice date though, I really enjoyed it. Got to know you a little better."

"Wait, what about notes?" She quickly shook her head to clear from 'bad' thought and looked up at him.

"Oh those, yeah I kinda forgot soo I'll bring them to your house later today. See ya Luce!" he winked at her and left the shop, leaving her completely baffled. Lucy sighed, deeply, closing eyes and rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out how can this turn for the worse because… it probably will.

"How much did you hear, Nea?" She asked, not looking up and from table behind Lucy slight giggle was heard.

"Eeeeeverything." Girl said "He is really nice Lucy, maybe you should give him a chance."

"I already have plenty of problems as it is, I don't need boyfriend."

"Wow…" Nea said slightly disappointed "You really do need to get laid, way too uptight." she finished and walked away to the cashier, leaving Lucy in wild cough as she choked on her coffee.

* * *

Natsu was walking home, his pace was quick but he felt strange vigor fill his body. Never before has he felt so good after not getting some and for some reason it infuriated him. _Why the hell did I accept no sex thing?_ _My mouth speak faster than my brain thinks… no wonder she labeled me as idiot in her contacts._ Just as he was to reach and open doors of house his phone started ringing and he looked at the screen.

"Jenny… well there is my stress relief." He moved finger to answer it but he stopped just as finger was to connect to smooth surface of his phone. Just few good words and he could be in heaven within next 15 minutes, depending on how fast he can reach her house. So why is he not doing it? A question that is about to be answered… he swiped finger across the screen and pressed phone against his ear.

"Heey Jenny, how are you?" he tried to sound as cheerful as he could "Alone? Yeah… Actually I need to pick up sis… I know I said it but this came out of nowhere, can't be avoided. Yeah I'll see you tomorrow, bye." He pressed finger on screen and call ended "Oook so apparently now I lie too. Damn you Lucy! You are now actively preventing me from having sex…"

He opened door and entered house, eyes wandered around to see who is at home. At first glance he saw Gran and Wendy sitting on the couch, leaned forward and watching tv… intensely. _Ooook by the look on their faces, Horhe probably is about to tell Esmeralda he is his own father_ he thought. Nevertheless he had something important do to.

"Gran, is dad home?" She just waves with her hand keeping her eyes glued to the screen "He is upstairs in his workroom."

He took off his shoes and went upstairs, knocking on the door before entering "Hey dad, got a minute?"

"Of course." Igneel looked up from his papers, removing glasses from his eyes "What is bothering you?"

"Why do you think something is bothering me?" Natsu asked, frowning slightly as he walked over and sat on small couch beside Igneel's desk "Because you only ask if I have a minute if you need something or if you are in trouble. Neither seem to be the case judging by your tone so I am assuming something is bothering you."

"You are one sneaky guy, you know that?" Natsu chuckled scratching his head violently, messing up his hair.

"I am a lawyer." Igneel smiled keeping his gaze on Natsu "So?"

"Was I… difficult kid to raise?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… after mom died… you were raising me on your own. Was I troublesome?" Natsu's grin disappeared and his face showed odd sight of remorse, remembering all the pranks he pulled during high school and how much trouble he was after Igneel remarried.

"Hmmm…" Ingeel leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms and looking up, remembering Natsu's youth "I wouldn't say troublesome, maybe a little bit more interesting. I tried my best to raise you the way she wanted, to be free and chose your own path in life… She would have done much better job than I did… I am sorry if I strike you sometimes as strict. I only wanted the best for you. I still do and I always will want only the best for you and to achieve that… I had to become better myself to provide you with everything you needed…"

Natsu was silent, looking at Igneel, suddenly making a connection, realizing that all this he already heard not more than half hour ago.

"You don't remember your mother, do you?" he asked and Natsu just waved his head to which Igneel just sighed and stood up walking toward the window, looking outside.

"She died too young… I try not to think too much of her…"

"Why is that? Because of Gran?" Natsu asked and Igneel just nodded.

"I never told you this before, though you never asked me, but, she was my high school sweetheart."

"Gran was your sweetheart?" Natsu shifted on his seat, his eyes widened and Igneel nodded.

"We were in love, free, we… what do you call it, fooled around… but as we graduated so did our time ended and we moved on, reluctantly… I went to Fairy Tail University she went to Mermaid Heel University and we haven't seen each other for four years. In the meantime I met your mother, during final year actually, and sometime before graduation we found out that she was carrying you."

"Was it hard?" Natsu asked

"I would lie to say I didn't regret being with 'Gran' from the start… But I loved your mother with all my heart."

Natsu frowned, not realizing that he would regret his next question "So… I was a mist-" he didn't even got to finish asking and Ingeel already managed to appear before Natsu, towering above his with obvious anger on his face… Natsu did occasionally get slap or two from Igneel but never before was he this scared of him… it was as if he was facing dragon that was about breathe fire through his nose.

"Natsu Dragneel, do not for a second think that you were a mistake! I will admit only that we didn't plan to have a child so soon but never, not for a single second, have I regretted having you. The very moment I heard your mother was pregnant I was happiest man alive and your birth was something I will never forget, I was in tears from the moment I touched you."

Natsu looked down, he wasn't getting scolded but it sure felt as it was one, still, the feeling he felt was unique one… he felt loved. Never before has he heard his dad speak like this and with such passion, even if it was covered in layers of anger but he felt it in his voice… pride. He smiled as Igneel placed his hand on Natsu's shoulder and returned the smile.

"Thanks, dad." Natsu smiled as he slowly walked out his office. His father's words resonated in head but more importantly, he started asking himself… if he was such 'interesting' kid to raise, how would Lucy's sister turn out, what if she rebels and it becomes harder for Lucy to hold… More importantly… why did he have this strange tight sensation in his chest that kept growing?


	13. All the wrong ideas

**A/N: As you move through the story you will notice few things. First is that I am slowly preparing for firs big complication of the story, second is my modeling of characters who though unique in their mentality had a template to follow. Among them are two most prominent ones who will be getting bigger roles in chapters to come. Juvia is first and you will notice distinctive lack of her addressing in third person and I modeled her after dubbed version of Fairy Tail. Reason is because I took both versions, subbed and dubbed, and came to conclusion that college students on their roads to academic degree do not often talk in third person... i needed to make her more decisive, more aggressive. Second is Freed Justine and that is purely because of the voice and I stand firmly behind my ascertainment that John Burgmeier did him justice! There is great deal of smooth lines when he spoke and among many roles he did I really found it easy for him to fit Freed's character, especially now when Freed is professor in this story of mine. I truly hope this did not disillusioned you, but I felt as if this was needed to be explained.**

* * *

"You are shitting me, you have to be shitting me…" Gray said looking at Natsu as they moved past college gates, going further into the premises and toward main building.

"Nope, not shitting you." Natsu said having the grin on his face. It didn't take long for them to enter building. Heat was slowly catching up to Gray who was on the verge of removing his shirt, but fortunately Natsu was there to 'politely' remind him not to. Despite that he still listened to him closely as Natsu unraveled conversation that occurred in the sweet shop the other day. The shock on Gray's face disappeared and soon, heavy laughter was heard "You are not serious!" he said in-between laughs.

"What?"

"Hold on, hold on…" Gray cleared his throat but the urge to laugh "You said that? No, you 'swore' not to hurt her? And you said it out loud?"

"Yeah?" Natsu was a little confused, of course this all made sense in his head but Gray seemed to disagree with this entire fact and he burst into laugh yet again. This of course angered Natsu to a degree. "Hey popsicle, just because you got your life in line doesn't mean you get to laugh at others."

"No no no" Gray cleared his throat yet again, trying to calm himself and this time he succeeded "I am not laughing at her life, trust me I am surprised how she manages all that, I am actually laughing at notion that you can be friend with a girl without having sex."

"Have you not heard about male-female friendships? They work cube-brain." Natsu looked on his phone to check the time and at his locker he placed books, taking out single one from it.

"Ok name one girl you are friend with whom you haven't fucked… one girl." Gray crossed arms, waiting for reply.

"Erza" Natsu said after good minute of thinking.

"Erza doesn't count, she is demon. I meant is _human_ girl." Gray frowned but not before he looked over his and then over Natsu's shoulder to make sure she isn't around.

"Ok so she will be first one." Natsu closed locker still frowning.

"And you are going to be ok with that? Because, that means you are probably gonna be reminded every time you sniff her like a dog during mating season. You really won't break the promise?"

"Well not yet…"

"Not yet?"

"Ok look, I didn't exactly lie about the hurt thing but that doesn't mean I am going to just give up. I feel that this girl is really special. First I'm going to show her that boyfriend is that big of a deal as she makes it, and when she is loosens up a bit, I will make my move."

"And you think that's easy? Having you as boyfriend?"

"What's not to like having me as boyfriend? I am smart…" Gray tried to contain another burst of laugh but Natsu continued "I am athletic I mean look at this!" He raised his shirt, showing his abs. It really wasn't like he wasn't a good piece of young man, quite the contrary his muscles were well defined and few whistles from girls around just proved him right. He released his shirt and continued "And I know how to handle a girl in bed, this is a win for both sides."

"Ok, tell you what…" Gray raised his right index finger toward Natsu "Why don't you spend some more time around her NOT trying to screw her 5 minutes after conversation start, and if you manage to endure everything she is enduring in one day… I am going to accept that you are right."

Natsu groaned but accepted. It did interest him, spending entire day with Lucy brought him light feeling in his chest and a smile on face. Problem was finding enough time for her to be free but he could probably work something out, after all she won't call him stalker anymore if it's friendly visit. Gray felt slight chill climb up his spine as he was watching Natsu plot yet again but his train of thoughts was interrupted by pair of hands that wrapped around his chest from behind and a feel of lips on his neck.

"Hey Juv" he smiled placing his right hand on top of hers and turned enough to catch her lips, a small peck, nothing more but enough to change his perspective of a day. "Ready for class?"

"Mhmm… Oh and I am free tonight." She winked at him and Gray simply turned toward Natsu grinning from ear to ear.

"Hear that? That is the sound of me getting some and you… getting nothing for the first time! I mean honestly I am the one who is usually lagging beh-…" he started but he stopped, his mouth gapped open as he widened his eyes as he just witnessed revelation of a decade "Oooh shit Natsu are you actually liking her?"

"Of course I like her."

"Who does Natsu like?" Juvia asked, slightly confused at conversation that she didn't follow.

"Not your business Juvia." Natsu responded with grin.

"He is starting to like Lucy." Gray added, having Natsu frown at him, yet again "And I mean really like."

"Natsu!" Juvia's smiling face turned quickly "Don't you dare hurt Lucy, you got it?"

"Why does everyone think I am going to do something like that?"

"We know you." Gray chuckled as he patted Juvia's hand again. "Besides you know who her childhood friend is?"

"Enlighten me." Natsu crossed his arms.

"Gajeel." Juvia said and Natsu's eyes widened. He really didn't want to cross path with him, not on bad terms after he watched preview of his last fight for Magnolia Heavyweight Championship. It didn't end well. "And if you hurt Lucy I am telling him you did it." Juvia concluded and it was last drop in Natsu's glass and he had to interfere with their organized front. He balled up the fist and slammed it against the doors of his locker.

"Enough already I get it! I haven't even done anything and you already treating me as if I broke her. I get it, she is in rough spot, I get it that I may have started on the bad foot but it doesn't mean I am going to force it on her! Can you two not believe me that sometimes I can be a good guy? Come on Gray, have you ever seen me force a girl into sex?"

"Very well, you made your point, just… Listen to my advice, before going after her, see if you can endure."

Juvia decided to say nothing, she knew well Lucy's situation being one of her few friends and in all honesty she wanted to protest against this idea but two main arguments stood in her way… first was that Lucy actually talked about Natsu to her friends, Juvia included, and there was a spark of possibility of her accepting him to a certain distance. Other, more compelling argument, is that her beloved was right there, making a decision and if he trusts him, she should as well.

"Now if you will excuse us, we have classes, and something fun to do after." Gray chuckled as Juvia pulled him by his hand toward other direction, leaving Natsu to groan. The whole mushy stuff almost made him puke, which is common thing for him to feel when it came to mushy stuff in one exception… when it was about him. It did gave him a thought though, if he could endure to be a friend with a girl without having sex as ultimate outcome, but then again, almost every girl in his life was eventually in his bed, except family of course and that one demon. This made him look around again, knowing that Erza is like probably like on those demons who, when you he says her name or think about her too many times, and will appear out of nowhere to eat his soul and beat the living shit out of him…

"She really needs to get laid…" Natsu said in hushed tone as he leaned back against the locker, closing eyes for a second.

"Who needs to get laid?" a familiar tone interrupted his profound thoughts.

"Nothing, just some random thinking. How are you Jenny?" he asked, smiling as she moved in and kissed him, a bit too long for a greeting.

"Feeling good today. Better than yesterday when you left me waiting." She purred as she tried to be as close to him as possible. He didn't object but he felt a little uncomfortable as he kept forgetting about her, mostly due to fact another found her way into his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that sweet cheeks."

"Then how about today?"

"Today sounds fine, yeah, I'll see you after practice." He nodded and she smiled wide, giving him another deep kiss before leaving. He grinned wide but it didn't last longer than ten seconds as he looked to his right, spotting Lucy who merely glanced at him before continuing to place her books inside locker. Uncomfortable was not strong enough word for feeling that he felt.

"That was… ummm…" words had hard time coming to him

"What?" She asked, looking confused at him.

"Well with me and umm… Jenny."

"What about it?" She asked, closing the locker. There was not a trace of anger or jealousy that he expected to find.

"I mean… that and with you and me?" He stuttered, every word was elongated, trying to find correct one to follow.

"Natsu, you don't need my approval for that. You can have sex with whomever you want." That did not sound right to him one bit, it felt odd, weird… as if he could continue to get closer to her but he had permission to have sex with other girls… Tiny alarm started howling in his head, one that told him that he was to be extra careful for one step will bring hell on him.

"Can't you like, at least pretend to be jealous?" He asked.

"Why?" And now she asked.

"I mean because of yesterday and the talk…"

"Natsu, look… I am honestly having second thoughts about what you said yesterday. But I am counting that at very least if you are not going to listen to my words, you are going to listen to yours. You gave me your word yourself and trust me I am not that comfortable trusting you but… I am willing to take a shot, knowing you are going to regret that."

"Then allow me to confirm your trust." He quickly said, moving one step closer but she took one herself, making distance from him.

"And how do you intend to do that?"

Idea occurred to him, devious one, terrible one, completely lunacy even… he will listen to Gray's advice and it actually seemed attractive to him.

"When is your next free day? When you don't have to work shifts."

"This Saturday. I have work on Friday and double shift on Sunday but Saturday is free for me."

"How about you let me spend time with you all day? I'll help you with any work you have in house or with Michelle and you can see that I am not just soma baggage you need to carry with you. I may even ease up your day so you can relax."

"Is that another one of your plans to get me on your 'date'? Because I filled my quota for entire month." She looked at him suspiciously but he quickly waved his head.

"No joke, no low blows… You point with finger, I'll help with that. Think of it like having your own personal butler for a day." He smiled wide, taking another step closer to her but she responded by taking another one of her own to make distance. Of course this sounded suspicious but the look on his face showed determination that made her absolutely sure he will not back down. There was nothing she could do anymore so she sighed.

"Very well then, my day starts at 6:30 so you can come at 7."

"Beautiful, but…" his tone changed along with the topic "Still nothing? I mean you were not even least bit jealous she kissed me like that?"

She sighed, deeply and lowered her head. One deep breath, then another and she looked up at him. Her hand raised and quickly moved, slapping him across his left cheek, rather hard before she growled at him "How dare you kiss another girl thinking I won't find out?! I trusted you!"

Heads turned to look at both of them and she quickly smiled saying "Drama club, we are just rehearsing". That made them continue with their own business and she looked back at Natsu who placed his fingers on his cheek. "How was that?"

"That actually hurt!" He protested but she didn't flinch from his glaring eyes.

"I know, consider that payback for making me kiss you at Sabertooth." She winked before taking moving past him. Natsu was struck with more than just her palm, the pain on his face was deeper… unlike any pain he felt before and Gray caused him many painful moments on field… yet this one hurt him in odd way. He smiled as he moved toward the classroom, oh yes, he smiled.

Lucy on the other hand was not smiling… well not too much at least but it did brought her odd satisfaction. Was it the slap or was it the expectation of a day she could order him around. _What am I thinking he is not my butler!_

She sat down on her seat in classroom, feeling a very small blush creep up on her cheeks. _A butler for a day…_

"You feeling alright, Lulu?" Levy asked her as she sat right beside her "Natsu didn't say much about what happened the other day," and boy in question entered the classroom, he wanted to sit right behind Lucy but the one who occupied the seat made him just move past and go toward the end of the amphitheater.

"I am feeling fine, do not worry Levy." Lucy smiled at her, giving bluenette a small bit of relief "He just helped me, that's all."

"Yeah, well when I get my hands on that punk I'll help myself with his face…" Growling voice came from behind both of them; he didn't miss the chance to send his glare toward Natsu.

"For seventh time, we just talked!" Levy slowly turned to glare at Gajeel "And I was too worried about Lucy to even think about that!"

"Didn't sound like that to me!" He growled louder.

"When are you going to get it into that thick skull of yours?" Levy narrowed her eyes.

"When he stops messing up with my woman!"

"Stop calling me your woman! You are making it sound as if I am old!"

"Well if I don't someone might take you for a shrimp!"

"Oh so now I am a shrimp too?" She sounded even more annoyed but Gajeel didn't sound like he was anywhere near close to end.

"Well maybe but you are still _my_ shrimp!"

"Geez shouldn't you two marry first to in order to have marriage counseling?" Lucy giggled as she was listening to them.

"We are not married! I mean not marrying, I mean married!" Gajeel quickly tried to deny Lucy's claims despite him being way too easy to read but this seemed like overboard, even for Levy to take. He screwed up…

"So now I am not good enough for you?" Levy huffed before turning to face forward.

"Wait I didn't mean that"

"I am not speaking to you, Gajeel!"

"Damn it!" he grunted, lowering his head down, pressing forehead against the wooden surface of the amphitheater table. All the while Lucy giggled even more, she knew that their spats do not last more than a day and this hardly makes it to top ten of their argues… they knew to argue more for lesser reasons and for some reason, Lucy was happy for them, to be able to overcome the differences and small disagreements. Despite her adamant stance… she did feel as if she was missing someone… someone who could do things like Gajeel does to Levy and stays with her regardless of their love spats. But there was great difference between _want_ and _need_ and she couldn't understand if she needed someone or wanted someone.

Class started soon and with it everyone's focus turned toward professor Justine entered in his usual but full splendor. Immaculate suit, well combed long green hair and pair of slim reading glasses. There wasn't much doubt that he was by far the most desired professor of the College.

"Good morning, class." Freed nodded as he reached desk and from his bag he pulled out textbook. Of course he looked alright but Lucy couldn't understand why all the sighs. Even Levy let out one but that was purely to annoy Gajeel and that did not need extra effort to achieve… he was ready to let out hot steam through his ears and nostrils.

Class ended right on time and as it did, everyone stood up to leave. Levy was first to rush out, Gajeel followed close but not before Natsu managed to slip past them. He was not going to stand over her head? Perhaps she hit him too hard. All that could not bring down her mood but something else could and that something appeared.

"Heeey you are Lucy, right?" A voice and she looked up to the girl. "Hi, I'm Jenny!"

"Pleased to meet you… Jenny." Lucy replied, feeling slightly uneasy. She looked cute enough, with more make up than needed so she expected that this girl needs something from her.

"I noticed you hang around Natsu a lot." Girl smiled again, but Lucy could see she was annoyed; it was hard for her to hide.

"It's other way around, trust me." She replied.

"He is dreamy, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, he is a real treasure." Lucy smiled, feeling the discomfort rise with every second.

"Well he is also taken, plus, he is really not your type."

"He really isn't. You can have him as far as I am concerned." The smile on Jenny's face quickly disappeared, there was clear sign that she expected from Lucy to make any kind of possessive comment or even offensive but there was none. Her complete lack of interest was getting on her nerves but she knew better than to initiate any kind of trouble, yet.

"Well as long as you understand, it's all that matters." And with that she left the classroom. Lucy sighed, heavily, not knowing what to think of this entire situation. There wasn't need for any explanation, the simple fact Natsu is dating her means a whole load of problems for Lucy, starting from jealous girlfriend to possible jealous ex-girlfriends and the power of rumors and gossips should never be underestimated…

"Oh Mavis, what have gotten myself into?" She closed eyes and rubbed her temples with both of her hands... all she wanted was quiet time in college.


	14. One day with her, part 1

**A/N: One very long chapter that I had to separate into two shorter ones, update with second part will come soon.**

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_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! _

That was by far the most dreadful sound she knew. Louder and more menacing than any siren in existence, it was the hot blade that pierced her head, woe of banshee that cried in silent, moonless night. It was the sound of a perfect predator that never lost its prey… the sound of a new day.

Her hand rose and her first slammed against the nightstand… she missed and with fingers she searched for the little plastic bastard that was biting her eardrums. A little to the left, more… more… there it is, she found it and with the press on the top button the hated stalker has been silenced. Her head now rose to read digital numbers on its display… it was 6:30, never misses a single second and it was ready for another round. She was still sleepy, barely looking through her eyes that were covered by her messy hair. She didn't slept well last night… again. Sabertooth had a nasty habit of making her exhausted to a point that she never had the time to even shower after coming home. This night was no exception.

Lucy sat up on bed slowly and moved head from side to side with her right hand squeezing her own neck. She didn't sleep well… that was already established but she really didn't sleep well… her head felt heavy, neck was stiff and the burp that she allowed to escape smelled like old eggs. Another perfect morning and what a lovely hangover she had right there without a single drop of alcohol.

There is no rest for her and with that little knowledge in her head, Lucy stood up and walked to the mirror that was in the room, trying to see what wreck managed to crawl into bed last night. White cotton panties and tight pink T-shirt that spelled _Kiss me!_ in front, elongated and bent due to her more than ample breasts. _I'll have to thank Levy for this_ _one_ she thought… only kisses she gets are ones placed on her ass made by various hands that couldn't wait to cup a feel.

Lucy looked across the room, noticing that it is silent and the fact that crib was silent confirmed reason for the silence. Elizabeth probably took Michelle down after she cried. She didn't hear her again it would seem and that thought made Lucy's start even worse. To be older sister huh… How to accomplish that when she couldn't hear a cry of a baby? The feeling was nothing short of a pure disgust.

She closed her eyes and scratched her own head, making the hair even messier than it was. Self-pity will not solve the day so she should at very least grab every straw she could get, first one being… breakfast. Doors opened and she left her room, walking down the stairs and looking at the already set table with her still sleepy eyes. She desperately needed a hot meal but first craving for water needed to be satisfied.

"Good morning Luce." A greeting reached her and she responded with just some mumbling, proceeding to take a glass and fill it with water, drinking. "Did you sleep well?"

You could actually see the little clock in her head ticking. _Tick tock tick tock tick tock, ding ding ding!_ That was the first of two alarms that would make her almost jump out of her skin.

"Natsu?!" She turned and looked at pinkette with her wide brown eyes. The man in question simply smiled at her and in his lap there was Michelle, seemingly not very much interested in what was happening around her. "What are you doing in my house?!"

"It's Saturday. You told me to come. Don't tell me you changed your mind because that would be teasing."

"I told you to come at 7! And how did you got inside?" She was still shocked, managing to place the glass into the sink before she could drop it or worse… toss it in his general direction. "Where is Elizabeth?"

"First thing first, the old lady let me in after I knocked on the door, I didn't just got through the window if that is what you think. Second, she left to buy groceries I think… so now I am the resident babysitter" he grinned wide as he gently took Michelle's hands and waved at Lucy.

It was the time for the second alarm to sound in her head but it occurred after Natsu let out a whistle while looking at her. At first Lucy was confused but she quickly realized in just what state she was.

"Hey! Don't look at me!" she yelled at him, pulling edge of shirt down to cover her panties, her cheeks began flushing.

"Where am I supposed to look?" Natsu smiled, moving head slightly to his right but his eyes were glued on the blonde.

"Anywhere! Look away!" she moved with quick pace up the stairs. The amount of embarrassment was way beyond measure and the slight blush that painted her cheeks was now nothing less than full red. A stranger saw her in panties and shirt with hair that resembled a bird's nest. Well perhaps not a stranger, more like stalker who occasionally does a good deed, but that didn't change the anything regarding her situation.

Natsu on the other side was grinning from ear to ear. His eyes were down on Michelle who had her fingers stuck in her mouth. For the first time he saw her in this light, he could even swear he saw her blushing a little bit just as she pushed her shirt. Hard to believe she had this girly side in her, after everything he witnessed, after seeing her gruff mask… there was a blush, there was weakness; there was girl who felt this uncomfortable. There was no denying, he found it completely irresistible and the simple fact that _Kiss me!_ became even more stretched made things even better.

Lucy felt nothing that Natsu did at this moment, for her this was weakness that she had no luxury of keeping. This morning started as a nightmare, continuing torture from day before but perhaps… just perhaps, a shower might reset this bad luck. She took a towel and peeked through the door, making sure he is not standing beside and then made a quick run to bathroom. The cool shower was what she needed now so desperately and water did small miracle for her tension. Every drop that fell on her skin felt like a miniature massage that she enjoyed. This was her moment, just hers… In here no one existed, in here no one ever saw her cry and she did so many times but today… today was not one of those days.

Fifteen minutes were sufficient for her to relax, not much but enough to at very least start believing again that day just might turn out to be better than it started. She wrapped towel around herself and made way into the bedroom but Natsu's presence inside made her yelp.

"Natsu! Why are you in my bedroom?"

"Just taking a look." He responded as he was looking on her desk that had few papers and books on it, not even paying attention to Lucy in her towel that was barely enough to cover all the goods "I didn't had enough time when I brought you so I am just taking a little tour."

"Where is Michelle?" She asked, starting to panic.

"She is in her crib." Natsu pointed and Lucy looked immediately in that direction. Michelle was sitting, holding in her hands the plush duck, still not remotely interested in the world that happened around her. Natsu on the other hand was interested and he picked up a framed picture. There was a girl, blonde, lying on the bed with surrounding that resembled hospital, holding a baby and on her face there was a smile, warm and caring as she held a little miracle in her arms. "Guessing this is you with your mother."

"Yeah…" Lucy said softly, her hand held the towel to avoid it slipping down.

"Wow, you two look a lot alike."

"I know, can you leave the room now?" She asked, now beginning to become a little annoyed by his presence.

"Why?"

"So I can change."

"You can change, I won't mind." He grinned wide at her finally noticing her little 'situation' that was presented before him "there is nothing you have that I haven't seen already."

"That one is painfully obvious but I would like to preserve what little dignity I still have. So… please… leave the room." He groaned but complied, leaving the picture back where he took it from and left the room. At that moment she remembered that he was supposed to be helping her and all he did so far is made things worse. Lucy was beginning to realize that this might have been a mistake, to allow him to come. She dressed up, last pair of clean jeans and a yellow shirt. It was good time to realize her fashion sense might be a little dull but she still chose comfort over look and in this she felt most comfortable in… that and the fact that her stressful life kept her line in check, more than it would do so to other girls.

Clean and freshly changed she left the room with Michelle in her hands, walking down where Natsu was waiting, sitting on the chair. Table was already set with breakfast.

"Well you took your sweet time, come, sit." He said, standing up and pulling a chair for her to sit.

"Please tell me you didn't make all this…" She responded, taking the seat although she was still very much skeptical.

"I helped, if that counts." Natsu chuckled as he took her plate and in it he placed several pancakes, pouring syrup over it and filling her glass with orange juice. "Nothing like a good breakfast to start your day."

Lucy felt slight amusement, it wasn't about situation but rather the way Natsu completed each of these tasks as if he was a servant of a lord. Perhaps day could be salvaged a little bit.

"You do realize I need to feed Michelle first right?"

"Allow me, Miss Lucy, I shall do it in a jiffy!" He walked over and gently took Michelle from Lucy, as he sat down he looked at the table, confused.

"Pancakes?" He asked looking at Lucy and she waved head

"She cannot eat processed food."

"Right right… milk?" He asked again and Lucy waved head yet again.

"Baby food."

"Of course, I should have thought of that… right baby food…" he nodded sagely before looking at Lucy again "Where do you keep baby food?"

"In the fridge." She responded and her lips curved into smile realizing the hopelessness of his attempts to act like an adult. Natsu got up and walked but quickly returned "Here, hold her for me please." He said and gave Michelle to Lucy before walking into the kitchen. Lucy was now very much amused at his lack of knowledge but she could give him a solid 3 out of 5 for effort. She could hear fridge open but she kept her gaze down at Michelle as he rummaged through it and soon he returned, bringing 6 small jars with baby food, labeled with various fruits. He looked between all of them and picked one with apple on the label and just as he was about to open it Lucy spoke.

"You don't really think to feed her with cold baby food, do you?" her voice was lower, slightly frowning.

"No! Of course not… I will… heat it up…" he nodded again sagely but in reality he had not a single clue what he was doing. "Sooo… miiicroooo…" he elongated the word as much as possible and she waved head again, sporting her previous smile "No of course not, I pour it in pan and heat it? Right?" He asked and she waved head yet again. Smile turned into giggle.

"Natsu you are not preparing a last meal. Just let me do it." Lucy was about to stand up but his hand quickly reached her shoulder and pushed her down.

"You will not, you need to eat, I'll do this…"

"You don't even know what to do." She giggled a bit more but managed to straighten her face.

"Then you tell me what to do and I'll do it."

_Maybe it is 4 out of 5_ she thought "Alright, first, you will fill the pot with water and heat it up, when water is hot, you will put the jar inside and make sure water does not exceed the height of jar."

"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted and moved into the kitchen, finding the pot and doing as instructed. All the while Lucy was content to play with Michelle. Baby was still very much confused but Lucy's voice kept her calm and happy.

"I know. He is silly." Lucy spoke to her in higher, playful tone, leaving pinkette to battle with pots and pans that fell. It appeared to be a titanic battle, one that required advanced knowledge of engineering and chemistry to heat up water. He is usually not this clumsy but this vigor amd eagerness pushed him to the point of wanting to prove that he is capable, he couldn't exactly understand for what reason… but he felt that his labors worthy of Hercules himself, have only just began.

Ten minutes later and water was ready and he quickly ran over to table, taking the jar with baby food and slowly submerged it in the bot.

"Make sure the jar is open!" she said in loud voice and he let out a slight groan as he now had to pull it out of hot water. Nevertheless he did it and opened it before returning the jar inside. "And you have to stir all the time!" Lucy added as she glanced over her shoulder, enough to see him desperately trying to find small spoon. His ordeals were nearing end and he came back with the jar, sitting beside Lucy. At first she objected but with some of his persuasion he managed to convince her that he is capable of feeding Michelle himself… She would lie to say she didn't want to see that so she placed Michelle in Natsu's lap and decided to focus on her own breakfast, leaving pinkette with yet another labor.

Michelle was uncooperative to say the least. Hungry, yes, but not used to being fed by anyone who isn't Lucy or Elizabeth, so she gave Natsu quite the trouble. Half the time she wouldn't even open mouth or other she would just stick her tongue out and the small bit of food would just roll down and fall on her lap or… his.

"You are not being a lady you know?" Natsu dipped spoon into the jar and attempted to feed her again, poking with tip of spoon to her lips to make her open up. Never before has he met a girl this stubborn, even Lucy eventually softened up but this little cutie? Nowhere near that point. All the time Lucy was eating her own breakfast and her amusement was now obvious as two of them were deep in the battle of wits. Ten agonizing minutes and jar was empty, Natsu emerged victorious at the price of his shirt and pants being dotted with baby food, a result of Michelle's decision to wipe her fingers against them.

"See? I know my way around girls." He gloated as he took small napkin and started wiping her mouth and face. Lucy just nodded, impressed at his determination. "What do we do next?"

"Next is for me to change her and I get to do laundry." She responded as she stood up and decided to tease him "You can clean the table, mister butler."

"Aye ma'am"

"Not aye, yes" Lucy corrected him and took Michelle from him, taking her upstairs for a change. She really did make a mess out of herself… _little Miss Piggy_ Lucy said in soft tone as she smiled and changed her. Diapers, pink pajamas and small socks to match. Now she looked like a proper young lady.

Lucy walked down and table was already cleared. Natsu didn't need instructions on what to do, he washed the dishes still in elevated mood from his grand victory and it was noticeable to Lucy.

"Diligent are we?" She asked, making him look over his shoulder.

"So what's next on the list?"

"Natsu, I think you are approaching this the wrong way…" Lucy sighed softly "this isn't a game in which you have quests and get reward for completing them…"

"I know, but whenever I ask you anything about yourself you deny me the answer. So, I figure, if I am to learn a bit more about you I can start with learning about your day. How else can I do that if not ask you what comes next?"

"Alright, I guess you are right." She responded, letting out a slight sigh "Next we do laundry."

Natsu has finished with dishes and followed Lucy who opened large plastic basket and started creating multiple piles… one for whites, one for colors, one that was strictly Michelle's clothes. Task would have been a lot easier if Natsu didn't stop every time he would see Lucy's panties but more than that it amused him in what colors they came. White, pink, even red and purple, each time Natsu would show to her, waving and she would quickly snatch it from him.

"I don't understand one thing." He said as he collected first pile where white laundry was.

"Only one?"

"Yeah I mean… you girls have no trouble walking in swimsuits with hundred eyes looking your way but the moment someone sees you in underwear that reveals less, you freak out!"

"That's because swimsuits are designed for everyone to be seen, underwear is our privacy. It is part that we hide from everyone. Intimacy."

He just nodded, things were not much clear, intimacy, privacy… terms he knew, terms he actively practiced but if that is the fact, if it is so important to her… then he just peeked deep into her intimacy, right? Washing machine has been filled and turned on, Lucy made sure of that but Natsu did watch, as if he was interested to learn how this magical contraption works. He was not idiot, washing machine is not a miracle but he never really understood what had to be pressed and this… separation of whites and colored… A little bit of knowledge that he gained and the odd thing was, he enjoyed it.

But Natsu's labors were far from over and Lucy decided that today is good day for some cleaning and her 'butler' seemed more and more like a gift.

"Very well then my trusted knight, you shall be given the honor of riding the mighty steed of Vacuum Cleaner!" she said rather cheerfully and pointed to the corner where it was located.

"Please tell me you are joking." He responded, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You said it yourself, you wanted to help. Are you backing down?"

"No, I mean, please tell me you are joking with the speech… kinda cheesy, you know." He scratched back of his head as he moved to collect it, looking around for electric socket.

"Well if that doesn't motivate you, if you do your task well you may receive a reward." She winked his way and in that very instant there was nothing cheesy left in his head. Instead he rose the pipe up as a knight would raise his lance and proceeded downstairs to begin his draconic quest. All that made Lucy giggle, he is a solid 4 in effort she can at least admit that and cleaning has never been this easy. Perhaps she could employ him every week but then again… she knew this was all temporary, a fleeting moment.

Natsu was thorough, the very idea of reward has renewed his dedication and each spot was passed ten times before moving on. He was indeed thorough and while he was busy with his 'steed' Lucy took on herself to wipe the dust, above the area of Natsu's jurisdiction. Everything was being cleaned except Lucy's room where Michelle was sleeping. In the meantime, Elizabeth returned, bringing bags of various groceries in her hands, ones that Natsu was more than happy to take form her. She was curious about his assistance but Lucy quickly reassured her on his 'motives'… but that didn't mean old lady didn't have ideas of her own and those ideas only brought her smile on face as she watched young ones clean so vigorously. Hours passed quickly for them… Hours, otherwise spent in heavy thoughts, were oddly relieving for her and she wondered if his motives were truly in correlation with his own words. Was he aiming to be friend or was it just another step.

Noon came and passed, 13… 14… 15… the house was clean, with more than few breaks that they used to chat, a simple chat about anything that came to them. Mundane topics that made her feel as if she is chatting with Levy and she could have sworn she was around. Was Natsu always this easy to talk? Of course that little trait could always be interrupted with a simple question.

"So, what is my reward?" He asked, grinning at all the possibilities and his mind truly could go far.

"Well as a reward you get to escort us on the afternoon walk." She replied as she walked upstairs, taking already awake Michelle from her crib and walked down.

"A walk?"

"Yes. It has been a while since I had the time to take her out myself. You can come with us."

"Alright." He nodded and brought the stroller. It wasn't difficult to notice it as it was standing by the door and Lucy started preparing the needed items she was to bring. Of course, Natsu was the one who was running up and down to bring the rest that Lucy remembered she was missing… one by one on purpose. Everything was set and they left the house.

Walk was slow, every now and then a passenger would kneel down to take a better look at Michelle who now often decided to be on verge of tears… it wasn't difficult for Natsu to notice that she wasn't that fond of all the strangers so he was the one to shoo them, politely, but it was in fact shooing.

They reached the park. Warm day attracted many people to walk by, walking among the shades of birches and linden. Fresh smell of green leaves made the place popular and often would elderly come to sit on the benches and enjoy the day.

"Oh no…" Lucy said as she looked in bag, rummaging through items.

"What, what?" He asked, frantically.

"I forgot to bring the formula, can you run back and bring it?"

"Oh, ok, I'll be back before you know it." He started running in opposite direction but she called him back and he stopped and turned "It is in the fridge so make sure you warm it up! Same as you did before!"

He just waved and started running again. Lucy thought it would take him at least 30 minutes to go back, warm it up and return so she could take this time to sit on bench and take some time alone. Fortunately book was always essential part of the travel bag so she took it out and started reading.

"Lucy?" A voice came, right in front of her actually. She looked up, noticing a boy in white shirt and dark blue jeans. He waved as soon as she looked him into the eyes.

"Oh, hello Gray." She greeted him.

"Fancy meeting you here. You brought Michelle out for a walk?" He asked and she frowned slightly.

"How did you know her name?" She asked and Gray was… well busted, left without words of excuse "It was Natsu, was it?"

"Yeah…" he scratched his head feeling uncomfortable.

"Well I guess that was to be expected" she sighed "You came with Juvia?"

"Yeah she met some old friends and I escaped before I became exhibit. She'll find me eventually." he chuckled as he took a seat on the bench. Chat somehow turned into another direction and landed on Natsu. Lucy didn't have any conflicts in telling Gray what Natsu did this morning, starting from entering her house and all the chores. As story progressed, Gray had more and more difficult time controlling himself and at one point it was impossible for him contain the laugh.

"Hold on hold on…" he cleared his throat "You mean to tell me you turned him into your bitch-boy? Natsu? The Natsu? Pink hair, head the size of Moon?"

"Yes, I mean no, not like that, I didn't turn him into bitch-boy, he volunteered to do them himself."

"You are shitting me!" He moved closer his eyes widened "He volunteered? As in, he proposed it first? Did you tempt him with some reward or something?"

"Yes he wanted it by himself… is that so hard to believe?" She asked, confused at Gray's reaction that now yet again turned into laugh.

"Oh this is gold, this is pure gold…" he wiped tears coming from his eyes.

"What is?"

"Lucy, you don't understand, he is the guy who runs to hide into my room at the dorm when spring cleaning starts… I have him almost every weekend there and I have never seen the guy wash the glass he was drinking from and you are now telling me… he made pancakes..."

"Well more like helped making them…" she corrected him

"Helped making pancakes… fed your sister, washed the dishes, vacuumed the house and did the laundry?"

"Well there is still carpet left…" she added

"Please please make a picture, I'll pay you any price you want just please… make one for me." Gray pleaded, making the face of a child that just saw chocolate.

"You are one odd friend…"

"Look don't get me wrong, I stand by my words that Natsu can be… reliable when he is not an asshole… but I have never seen him act like this for anyone." He wiped remaining tears from his cheek and looked at Lucy who was smiling as another woman, maybe 5 years older approached the stroller and took a look at Michelle. She was pregnant and Lucy couldn't but find it oddly pleasing to see her reaction.

"What week?" Lucy asked and woman returned the smile.

"Almost 30." Gray glanced at Lucy as she was asking but there was something else that bugged him and he waited for woman to leave before he decided to ask

"Tell me, did he invite you to come to his house?"

"A couple of times. Yesterday actually he asked me before I went to work. He said that since he saw my room it would be fair for me to see his… Why?"

"Huh…"

"What 'huh'?" Lucy was more and more confused by Gray's questions and reactions.

"Didn't expect that…" he leaned back on the bench, looking up at the leaves of tree that covered the sun.

"Are you going to tell me what you are thinking or will you just leave the cryptic messages?" Lucy asked and Gray looked at her, taking few seconds of silence to collect these little bits of broken thought into one idea.

"Natsu is like… well he's like Superman" Lucy snorted at hearing this; as if he needed more ego boost "No no, I can't deny. He can barge in like he is bigger than life, he is best at what he does but no one knows where he hangs his cape. I can tell you he scored more girls than he scored in game but not once have I heard from him that he brought girl to his room."

Lucy felt slightly out of place, she couldn't understand this reasoning. Why was she so special? Surely there are many other girls, better girls but he is fixating on her right now and she felt conflicted… Should she think this as another trick to get her into bed, or was he true to his words? While she was thinking and Gray looking in Juvia's direction and soon Natsu was seen running back, panting heavily as he extended bottle with formula toward Lucy.

"You came back quickly." She said as she took the bottle, inspecting the warmth "I think we could get something soon."

"There is a hot-dog stand at the other side of the park." Gray added and then grinned wide at Natsu "Oooh Sebastian! Why don't you run along and bring us something classy and yet tasty to eat?"

"Bite me, popsicle"

"Hey be nice to Gray." Lucy interjected as she placed bottle inside her bag.

"Since when have you two became pals?"

"Since five minutes ago." She added, making him drop his jaw slightly.

"And you are making me run around and give him easy time?!"

"Well he is not the one who was rummaging through my underwear." Lucy's voice showed her annoyed side, still not forgetting his 'deed' however her tone quickly changed "But I could go for a hot-dog."

"You heard the lady! Mush you fiery lizard!" Gray said again, enjoying his newly found position. Natsu stood by him and leaned down enough to whisper.

"Don't forget we have practice on Monday, you watch your back ice-princess."

"Scaaary." Gray mocked him as Natsu ran through the park, looking to find the food stand that Gray described. Lucy said nothing, instead she just looked toward running Natsu, wondering just what exactly is pushing him so far beyond his own limits and reason for Lucy. She dared not think the worst but then again, she couldn't deny it a possibility either.


	15. One day with her, part 2

**A/N: And here it is, the second part of the chapter that I promised! You get one more reference, no more! I shouldn't be doing that... This one is gonna be fun one!**

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"What's wrong with him?" Lucy asked, she knew she shouldn't ask but still, she did.

"Everyone has a different theory but the prevailing one, which is mine, is that lizards are territorial creatures and often exhibit idiotic outbursts when their territory is questioned." Gray chuckled.

"I am guessing I am that territory…" she asked in lower tone, narrowing eyes at Gray who struggled at first but knowing he had no way out of lying to her. He had to respond so he did in a form of nod.

"Great…" Lucy sighed "Also, lizards?"

"Not just any lizard, fiery lizard or salamander if you prefer, that's his nickname." Gray pointed in direction where Natsu went.

"Why do you call him like that?" Lucy asked raising eyebrow but immediately regretted that decision fearing what story would emerge as background for the nickname. In retrospective, she was right to doubt.

"Ummm you know how people do stupid things when they get drunk?" She nodded and it immediately made sense "Well one time he decided it would be fun to fart fire. Basically grab lighter and put it near your-"

"Ok thank you, I get it, really don't want to hear the end of it." She closed her eyes frowning. There was strong attempt in her to avoid making that mental image. "But why not dragon or something, why salamander?"

"Not sure actually. Ever since I met him he had the nickname lizard, this was just addition. Improvement, if there ever was one." Gray chuckled again; his eyes now fell on the stroller where Michelle was comfortably sitting, holding plush doll. "How old is Michelle?"

"She will be fourteen months next week." Lucy replied in soft tone as she looked at stroller. Gray shot another glance at Lucy, this time letting out a soft him but distant voice made him snap out of his thought and he looked around.

"And there she is…" Gray said and took deep breath "this ought to be fun…" he concluded and Lucy looked at him and then at the origin of the voice.

"Gray! How can you be so cruel? You left me so you could flirt with other girls?!" Juvia shouted as she walked with quick pace "I thought that yo- oh Lucy!" She quickly changed her tone as she approached "I didn't see you there."

"Hey Juvia." Lucy smiled and greeted her. Gray quickly looked between them. He was getting more and more confused at her behavior.

"I see you two came out for a walk." Juvia said in softer voice as she approached Michelle and kneeled before her, surprisingly Michelle smiled as she spotted Juvia. This wasn't first time two met.

"Yeah!" Gray quickly snapped "You caught us! We are here on date since I thought you went home." He quickly said. Reason behind his reaction was because he was never allowed to be within 5 meters of another girl but all of a sudden Juvia either forgot or didn't care Lucy was beside. Juvia just looked a Gray, slightly frowning but she said nothing, instead Lucy was first to be nervous.

"Wait, what?" She asked and with corner of his lips Gray muttered _just play along. _Lucy was beyond confused and she just nodded, not even knowing what is going on.

"Please Gray, at least make your joke funny." Juvia just smirked and turned her attention to Michelle "I know Lucy enough to know you are not her type."

"She is right you know." Lucy added, making Gray's eye twitch.

"Why can't you be like that with every other girl?! Why do you snap at them but you are calm when Lucy is around?"

"Because she is my friend, that's why. I know her circumstances and I know she is not going to act against our friendship."

"Again, spot on." Lucy giggled, leaving Gray with pained face and mouth open. It was official… there was no way he can win in this relationship and all he could do is just play along. Far from the fact Gray didn't like it but he could live without entire jealousy part.

"Oh dear…" Lucy said as she took Michelle out of her stroller and looked around. "I think someone pooped… Can you please just look after stuff?" She took small bag that was hanging on stroller and went over to a public bathroom nearby. Juvia just watched the entire scene, smiling from ear to ear.

"You ever think our baby would be that cute?" She asked making him almost choke on his own spit.

"Run that by me again, please!" He punched his chest hard to make it pass down.

"Well I always wanted to have a baby. Be at home, look after our child, cook and clean… oh I always dreamed of being a houswife…" she spoke in soft tone, dreamy expression obvious on her face as she cupped her own cheeks.

"Juv… hey Juv, come back, don't lose it, you can do it! Just come back to reality" he quickly interjected making her frown at him. "Hey… can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"You know Lucy well, right?" she nodded at his question.

Five minutes later and Lucy left public toilet with Michelle in her arms, making way back to the bench. Michelle really knew how to make a proper mess but it was nothing that Lucy couldn't handle, although she had so little time to do it on her own. Studies and work placed heavy strain on her constantly she didn't even had time to spend it with Michelle, or at least not the amount she wanted. As she was approaching bench she could see that Gray and Juvia were in deep conversation. Juvia had slightly sad expression on her face while he was frowning.

"Hey, thanks for that." Lucy said as she carefully placed Michelle back into her stroller.

"Don't mention it." Juvia replied. Gray was still in his thoughts but that changed as soon as Natsu was in sight, bringing two hot-dogs.

"The triumphant hunter returns!" Gray cheered, feeling the glare that was sent to him from the mentioned _hunter_. "So what have you brought us today?"

"I brought it for me and Lucy, you can get it yourself." Natsu said annoyingly as she extended his hand for Lucy to take the food "I'm not your servant."

"Aww come on, we just need to get you black tuxedo, tie, shiny shoes and white gloves… You'd be one hell of a butler" Gray chuckled and winked at now even more annoyed Natsu.

"Lucy!" yet another distant voice was heard, making them all look. It was clear even from that distance that source of the shout was Levy. Lucy and Juvia waved at her, Gray took few seconds to recognize either of them but he mimicked girls while Natsu was the only one who had his eyes as wide as possible.

"Shit! It's the punk machine!" He said chuckling. Gajeel of course didn't need many hints to recognize Natsu, it was the hair… it's always the hair. Pace quickened, going in front of Levy and straight toward Natsu who quickly moved behind Lucy, using her as a shield.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Gajeel shouted as he was approaching. "Come over here so I can kill you!"

"Hell no, I ain't dancing with you fancypants!" Natsu mocked furious boxer "But just in case, you wouldn't dare to hit the cute girl, would you?"

"Wait, why am I part of this?" Lucy asked, not sure how to react to this situation as Gajeel was in front and Natsu behind. If it was any other situation it might have been interesting but in this case, one wanted to kill the other and that made it a bad place to be, especially in between them.

"Gajeel, stop it!" Levy said as she came to his side, glaring up at him.

"You two made up?" Lucy asked, trying to break the tension.

"Yesterday but we might start all over again if he doesn't stop acting like a child!" Levy smiled at Lucy and then quickly frowned at Gajeel as she was finishing her sentence, directing word _child_ at him.

"Wait, why am I the child? He is the one who was hitting on ye!" Gajeel pointed at Natsu.

"And as you can see he is not anymore so you can stop it!" Levy was not going to back down. Gajeel quickly looked at her and then again at his object of anger.

"Tell him to put the glare down!" Natsu said over Lucy's shoulder.

"Natsu, please don't make things harder…" Lucy said, sighing heavily. His head was now right beside hers, not more than single centimeter apart and his closeness made her heart skip, not much but it was a single strong bump that reminded her that while he is silent, he is not that bad looking. However there was something odd about his silence. He looked at Gajeel then at Levy, then back at him. There it is… that devious look in his eyes _Oh no_ she thought _he is going to say something stupid_.

"So you two are dating right?" He asked and Levy nodded. _Wait for it._

Not more than one second later Natsu did what he does best. He let out a single huh followed by "How is he not destroying her?"

"WHAT?" Levy asked, looking at Natsu. Lucy was not surprised much although Gray managed to burst into laugh… granted he was elbowed by Juvia soon after he started but that didn't make him stop.

"I mean look at him and look at you! How the hell are you not walking like cartoon cowboys?"

"That's it, I'm killing him." Gajeel said angrily, trying to reach out for Natsu who successfully moved along with Lucy, still using her as his shield and making him surpress himself in order to avoid hurting her. Gray was nowhere near stopping his laugh-attack.

"Natsu stop it!" Lucy ordered, trying to not be intimidated by Gajeel's appearance. He was pretty scary when angry after all, even more to a Lucy who felt like a mice that stood before a dragon.

"Tell him to put the glare down!" Natsu repeated yet again in mocking voice.

"I'm sorry Levy, I can't control this idiot…" Lucy said, sighing heavily.

"It's nothing, I know Gajeel can be just a big idiot…"

"Like a jackhammer!" Natsu added leaning his chin on Lucy's shoulder, making her feel even more uncomfortable "Sooo can we resume our date?"

This however made everyone look at them, even Gray managed to stop laughing.

"Oh my, are we interrupting the date?" Levy asked

"We are not on a date!" Lucy shouted, as if speaking loud enough would make things better. However, it didn't.

"Of course we are! We are in park on Saturday afternoon, we are in nice clothes and there is even food. This qualifies as a date."

"Will you stop it?" Lucy glared at him. Levy was slightly confused by their argue but then she looked down at stroller where Michelle was and then back at the 'couple' that was still in heat of the moment. Her lips curved, slowly, softly, only barely enough to notice. There were indeed devious thoughts appearing in her mind.

"Then we should get going before we miss the movie. Come on you big log!" Levy tugged Gajeel who followed but his eyes were fixed on Natsu. Juvia simply looked at Gray and he immediately understood her without a single word being said.

"Well it was fun not having you around in my room for at least one weekend." Gray chuckled "But we should get going too and exploit the newfound crack in your schedule."

They were gone and now only Lucy and Natsu were left, at least two of the adults if they could be called that.

"Why do you have to make things hard, Natsu? And I am reminding you that you agreed!" Lucy moved away from him, not wanting to be his lean for another second. It wasn't annoyance that made her move it was the feel of uneasiness… was it good, was it bad? She didn't know what exactly it was but it made her feel weird, confused… and a good deal hot on cheeks.

"I did and I stick to my words but you can't deny me to make a joke or two about it. Where is my freedom of speech?!"

"You act as if this is democracy." Lucy finally grinned "Well you are wrong, this is dictatorship. I say, you obey. Now come, princess is getting tired and we are going home." She took all bags and placed some on handle of stroller and one over her shoulder, pushing slowly with one hand while eating her hot-dog with another. It just occurred to her what she just said, the dictatorship thing. Perhaps it was the heat of the moment, being surrounded by so many… friends. She could consider Gray a friend, he seems decent enough, Juvia and Levy are without a doubt and it has been long since Gajeel proved that he is not like every other man, plus he was dating Levy who was more than capable of keeping him in line.

They continued to talk while they walked. This entire day seemed so surreal, beyond possibility of her to believe that she could have… fun? Yes it could be considered fun. As what about Natsu? Well as big as his head was, he was the reason why she had this much fun. Maybe, and this is a whole new possibility… he might not be all that bad. Smile occurred on her face, soft and gentle as her thoughts whirled inside.

"What's funny?" Natsu asked as he walked beside her.

"Oh umm… nothing I just remembered what you said to Levy about their ummm… yeah!" She added, a little nervous.

"I was being serious I mean… look at this!" He placed his hot-dog in his mouth, with thumb and index finger of left hand he made a circle and his right fist balled up. His symbolic was clear as he tried to push fist through the hole, which of course could not be achieved but it did made Lucy almost spit out the food from her mouth. He took a large bite of hot-dog and chewed as she was coughing… in between those coughs there was a bit of laugh.

"Well thank you for giving me mental image that will be part of my traumas." She giggled.

"It was nothing." Natsu said in triumphant voice "So what else do we have?"

"You, are going to help me dust the carpets and I am going to put Michelle to her crib, take out laundry form the machine and place another batch."

"Sounds easy enough…" Natsu added as he finished eating his hot-dog. It did sound easy however he had no idea what 'dusting' means. He did hear it once or twice from his dad who tried to make him do it but pinkette would suddenly and inexplicably disappear half a second after Ingeel would look away. There was a chance for him to learn.

They arrived home and first thing that had to be done was clear… put Michelle back into her crib. Check. Take out laundry from machine. Check. Dusting? In progress. As instructed, Natsu took out all carpets out of the house and hanged them over a low branch of a tree. That appeared to be easy enough however hard time came when she gave him carpet-beater and pointed. It suddenly became clear to him and he began hitting the carpet.

"Why am I doing this when vacuum cleaner was invented?!" He asked.

"Because there is only so much it can do. Dust sticks deep into the carpet and because of it, carpet smells bad." Lucy said, having small smile as she watched Natsu literally beat the living crap out of poor carpet.

"What about dry cleaner?" He asked after few more smacks.

"It would be nice but you forget that they require jewels for their services." Natsu had nothing more to add to her explanation and he continued hitting the carpet. Indeed, even though he vacuumed it earlier there was still dust coming out of it and it occurred to him in that moment… was she doing this all by herself? How the hell is beating the carpet this tiresome? And man… was it this hot earlier?

He stopped for few minutes to rest and removed his shirt, feeling the heat get to him slowly. Practices were hard but they seemed like nothing compared to this monotonous beating. Lucy got out the house, holding basket with wet clothes and started hanging them one by one. Her eyes strayed and looked at Natsu, indeed he was far from not looking good… could she dare say he looked handsome standing there naked from waist up?

_Snap out of it Lucy!_ She thought to herself and continued with her chore, expecting a smug comment from Natsu but none came. Did he not notice her? Could be, but then again she was not gonna remind him that she was standing there, risking to hear one or two of his lines or worse… that worse being him doing something really stupid, which judging by his today's behavior at the park is to be expected.

"When you are done bring those inside." Lucy said and moved in with now empty basket. She still couldn't understand what's got into her but as she moved by the mirror she could notice her slightly red cheeks. He finished and opened front door, bringing in carpets one by one which she actually helped place back in their place.

"Now you can vacuum again while I make dinner." She said and his jaw dropped.

"Again? But I did that today!"

"I know but now it's all dusty, you don't think I am gonna walk on dusty carpet are you?" Her eyebrow rose as she looked at him.

"Ok I get that but why did you made me do it today? I mean, couldn't I just do this and then vacuum?"

"You cleaned parquet and tiles and most of the dust that was on the carpet. Now you cleaned carpets more thoroughly." She smiled at him "Besides I needed to know if you are just joking or you were serious about helping me out."

With painful long groan he continued and placed carpets back where they were, fortunately he now knew where vacuum cleaner is so that will be easy. There was determination in his eyes; he really wanted to prove that he can survive labors worthy of Hercules. He wanted to prove that he can justify her trust. Despite nonstop walking, running and teasing big ass walking grinder, day was actually quite fulfilling but he wondered… Was it always like this to Lucy? He remembered that this was a free day for her but on most days she would have even less time for herself, less time to do chores… There were studies, work and only what's left of time she could spend it with Michelle. He smiled; he smiled wide as he finally understood another piece of her… No, that's not it, it wasn't understanding, it was pure admiration. She was strong and defiant; she took on everything life threw at her and endured and if he could lessen her burden by even one percent, if this day actually made her feel a little bit better… then he could thank the stars for being part of it.

Dinner was ready and they ate, relatively silent as he was focused on eating. Other than having hot-dog, this was first proper meal he had all day. This of course made her smile, not sure why but it did.

"You feeling alright there?" She asked, still smiling.

"To tell you the truth, I am exhausted." He responded as he finished eating and burped loud, much to her disgust that she showed on her face.

"Pig…" she responded with a smirk.

"Is it always like this?" he finally asked, looking at her as he expected answer to his currently burning question.

"No, today was kinda easier. More often than not, my days are complete chaos." Lucy said, even though smile was present on her lips her eyes were saying another story, not happy one.

"And I guess I didn't manage to convince you that another pair of hands might be helpful?"

"Sorry Natsu but I am still standing by my word… I cannot date you." She said as she looked into his eyes.

"Not me! I mean in general. Surely you could benefit from having someone to help you or at least make you feel better at the end of the day. You are cute, have lovely set of… ok ok I take it back just… don't behead me!" he chuckled as he moved back a bit.

"But yeah, you could easily find a boyfriend."

"And that is coming from you?" She asked, hardly believing his own words.

"That is coming from me, Natsu 'The Great' Dragneel." Natsu smiled at her. His head however was rolling another film. If there was any way to visualize what was going on it would be like this. One Natsu would be sitting while another one would be hitting him with a giant oar screaming _What the hell are you saying you dumb idiot?!_ Or something like that.

"Then I will consider. But, no promises." Lucy responded. It was slowly reaching 21 on the clock and with Lucy working up early and Natsu's exhaustion, it was sufficient reason for him to head home. He picked up his jacket and she was there to walk him out. He was already out when she called for him.

"Aren't you going to pick up your reward?" She asked

"Wasn't me escorting you and Michelle the reward?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Maybe I lied just a little bit." Natsu looked around, not sure what to make of this but he came back to the door. It was obvious that Lucy was feeling uncomfortable, her chest tightened for reasons she didn't want to admit but she was thankful there was no Moon to cast light on her cheeks. Oh what terrible things he would see if only there was Moon. She moved close to him and placed one small kiss on his cheek, very similar to one she gave him in the club. "Thank you, for today. I actually had fun for the first time in months."

He was left there, standing on the porch as she closed the door. His senses were either gone or were severely malfunctioning while his brain was lagging behind. It took him good five seconds to realize what happened, he could blame exhaustion for that but he would lie in saying so. It was the moment… it was entire day that he witnessed.

Natsu noticed that his mouth was gaped open although he couldn't tell for how long. He shook his head fast and closed his mouth, trying to make sense of what just happened. Maybe walk will help him clear his mind. One step, two steps, three… one after another it led them away from Lucy's house and in direction of his own. His hand reached for his phone that was in pocket. Short search in contacts and he swept with finger and pressed it against his ear.

"Hey Gray… yeah it's me… Yeah I know my name was on the screen… can we skip that now? Oh you are with Juvia… right right… ummm… Is she listening? I asked if she is listening… Ok I'll wait… Right, remember the bet… No not that one… Yeah that one… I am backing down… Why? Well I'm not sure but… I think I'm falling for Lucy…"

* * *

**A/N: Who saw that coming? Come on don't be shy let me hear you?**


	16. Cold shower

**A/N: Been a little while since I update, still trying to change that. In any event, thank you all for your reviews. You are what make me push forward with this story.**

* * *

Painful ringing filled room. His eardrums were aching at this eerie sound and every tone felt like another knife that pierced his head. Eyes opened and tried to search the source but he just moment ago left the land of the dream and looking around proved to be of little use. It kept ringing and finally he extended his hand, trying to reach little flat device that was on table beside the bed. Hand brought it to his ear and he mumbled single _Hello_ but instead of answer phone kept ringing. He tilted the screen to see better and noticed he missed the answer button and with a swipe of finger he succeeded after several tries.

"Who's disturbing?" His voice was still low and still sleepy "Who? Oh… It's you… can it wait? Right… I'll come around noon… No it's not past noon!" He lifted his head, narrowing his eyes and adjusting focus in order to better see clock on the wall and it was indeed 12:25 showing on it. "Ugh… forget it… Yea I'll be over there in half hour… maybe hour…"

Natsu pressed finger on screen and ended conversation. He placed phone on bed beside his head and hand that was holding it now fell limp down over the edge of bed. Maybe five more minutes…

"Natsu-nii?" voice came from other side of his bedroom door, making him open his eyes again "Are you awake?"

"Yeah!" he shouted, groaning slightly after as she propped himself up and sat on edge of bed, rubbing his eyes with fingers of right hand. "I'll be down in few minutes."

He looked around again, taking a look at screen of his phone again and like a little mystery he saw three missed calls. There were few guesses that he could make in assuming who is behind them but to avoid leaving it to chances he still checked. Two belonged to Jenny and one to Gray and all three of them were from yesterday. For few moments he wondered how he could've missed those but remembered that he actually did silenced his phone, not wanting to be interrupted in his little epic quest around Lucy's house. Then again he did saw Gray in park and he didn't mention missed call. Well he is going to find out one way or another.

Once he was _presentable_ again he made his way downstairs. Igneel was going over papers while Wendy was helping her mother set the table for lunch. Perfect image of a perfect family utopia.

"You know dad, television was invented to replace the mess that papers leave behind." He grinned slightly as he went over and sat on edge of couch.

"I have been reading papers every day for twenty years now and I will be reading them until the day my eyes betray me." Igneel responded, still fully focused on his task. "Since you missed breakfast, can I assume you will be joining us for lunch?"

"Would love to but I have to run. Have something in plan."

Igneel didn't even flinch, already very much used to Natsu's excuses to be away. It wasn't that it didn't bother him because it did but his comments proved to have little effect and there was constant reminder made by Gran that he needs to have his own life and plan his own time. Igneel had countless arguments to counter these statements but he found himself in great difficulty in saying no to her and decided to trust her judgment.

"And here I thought you would want to spend a little more time with family." Igneel added, voice still calm as his eyes wandered from one page to another.

Natsu rolled his eyes, knowing well where this will go "Here we go again… Alright, how about this? Next time we have big house cleaning I'll be there and help as much as possible. How's that?

Red-haired man closed papers and folded them neatly before looking at Natsu. There was slight confusion that emerged, a puzzle that was presented before him and with it came a sudden realization that Natsu was acting unusual.

"That would be first. Mind if I ask what changed your mind?"

In that instant Natsu remembered yesterday clearly… every detail flashed before his eyes. Cooking breakfast, vacuuming entire house twice, helping with laundry and even dusting carpets. That was by far most exhausting day he had in past several years and that included all practices and games. It was beyond a doubt that he found something else in Lucy other than her looks… it was her strength and determination and he realized just how difficult it is to do all that on her own. Natsu's house… well rather his father's house, was almost three times the size and it is probably not easy for three of them to do it. What is this feeling he is having? Guilt?

"Let's just say someone gave me better understanding of it and I want to help. I am living here after all."

"You really need to bring that young man in here so I can congratulate him for achieving where I failed countless times." Igneel concluded with his lips curving up in slight smile. It felt good for him to see his son change his mind and it felt even better for Natsu to have his father have a little higher opinion of him. However this moment was short lived…

"It's not young man, it is a young lady." Wendy added as she was carrying plates "Natsu-nii is in love and he is trying to impress her."

He was beyond shocked as he watched his younger sister speak without a single flinch. Wendy is either guessing this, at which case she guessed everything or she hear something about this… Second option was not likely to be the case so all that is left is for little imp to actually add two and two together. It was indeed frightening for Nastu.

"Is that true?" Igneel asked.

"She is just joking…" Natsu chuckled nervously and shot cold death-glare in her direction and spoke with teeth clenched "Seriously Wendy, shut up."

"Well I am going to take whatever is offered although you should introduce us with this miracle-worker."

"There is no such girl!" Natsu almost shouted, feeling his temper slowly rising but after few seconds he managed to calm down. "Anyway I need to go."

All three of them watched as he left the house. It was safe to say that at this point they had a reasonable suspicion and Wendy's words merely confirmed what she already suspected. Natsu never behaved like this before, among all his bragging and boasting he never tried to conceal any girl he had in his life, be it short relationship or simple one night stand… but this was different and Igneel began considering all possibilities. Safe to say, few good and few bad came to his mind.

"It seems like Natsu is changing quite a bit." Silver-haired woman added as she continued to set up table with Wendy "He has been acting rather odd lately, in a good way."

"Well I am standing by my decision to meet this girl…" Igneel concluded and reopened papers, resuming with his daily inspection of Magnolia's news "Any girl who can make my son change his perspective on cleaning the house is nothing short of a genius."

* * *

Pinkette sighed as he stood by the door. He escaped one inquisition and is about to walk into another, knowing fully well that main inquisitor had more questions than he had hair on his head. Nevertheless, there was no one else he could speak about this. Hand rose and knocked three times leading to doors slightly open, only to reveal single eye revealing itself from the other side.

"Are you alone?" voice asked.

"What? Come on Gray stop acting like a five year old!"

"Are you alone?" he repeated question to which Natsu just nodded. Doors closed and sound of chain being removed from doors was heard before same doors opened again and hand grabbed Natsu by his shoulder, pulling him inside.

"How drunk were you last night?" Gray asked as he closed the door and slid chain on it again.

"I wasn't drunk at all." Natsu responded, taking off his jacket and threw it over a lean of couch as he sat on it.

"Bullshit…." Gray walked over and stood before him. His face revealed a mixture of emotions that could be described as annoyed, pissed off and good deal worried. "Let's start from top… what was it that you said last night over the phone?."

"I said I think I am falling for Lucy." Natsu answered, feeling a rock stuck in his throat. Gray on the other hand had no change in his expression and he quickly shook his head as if snapping out of trance.

"Sorry, say it again."

"I think I am falling for Lucy…" Natsu repeated, now feeling annoyed by Gray's request.

"One more time." Gray demanded, making Natsu finally snap.

"Alright, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I keep losing you after _I am falling_. You say it and it just goes… poof, blank, gone, end of sentence."

"What's this about, Gray?" Natsu asked "Is it really that difficult to believe?"

"Yes it is!" Gray quickly responded "It is because this is not like you!"

"People change."

"Not you!" Gray practically shouted this time but quickly composed himself. His right hand rose up and rubbed his face as he let out a long, audible sigh through his nose "Look, you are a lovable, egoistical, charming for some reason… asshole. Don't give me that look we both know who you are but it is true… You have fun, you score big time, we are going for pro league and you are the hit among the cheerleaders and other girls. You lure them, they fall for it, you get laid and both of you move on… That is your gig! That is what we always expect when it comes to you but this… This thing… this is not you."

"I said _I think_ I am falling, not definitely falling, alright? Can we drop this now?"

"No no no I am not dropping this because we both know where this led last time you went down that road, Natsu."

"For fuck's sake Gray, she is not Lisanna."

"Exactly, but you are making same mistake again! You fell for her, took the first step, went out with her and how did that ended?"

"Stop…" Natsu said in dangerous, low tone.

"Somehow it ended with a fight and she left because you screwed up big time." Gray continued, not minding that Natsu was on the verge of bursting and it was impossible to not notice vein popping out on Natsu's forehead. It was a signal to ease up the tension and let situation leave the red zone.

"Alright… alright… let's try another approach… Why do you think you like her?" He asked.

"I don't know man…" Natsu responded with less tense voice as he leaned back against the couch lean, his eyes now fixed on ceiling "It's just that…"

"It's what?"

"Lucy is not like girls I usually go out with. She is cute, smart, composed… I mean, I dated girls who were crying because some celebrity bitch was going through divorce but Lucy… She doesn't even care about that, she is strong…"

"And she never gave into your approaches. Have you considered that it's just a little bit of lust and not love?"

"Hey, hey, stop…" Natsu interrupted quickly and looked toward him, waving with hand "I never said love, I said I am falling for her… I like her, but love is a little too much."

Gray frowned, rubbing his face yet again as he sighed. "That is basically the same thing. Falling is precursor to love, it's what comes after you get to know that person a little more than just looking at her physical appearance, which again… leads me to ask if you are attracted to her just because she never slept with you."

"I… don't know Gray…" Natsu said feeling a little defeated. Confusion was running rampant in his head, one thought came after another but they all led to same thing, to same name, to same face… Suddenly Lucy became center of his thoughts. Gray was definitely going to make fun of him for this but he felt as if he needed to share.

For the next twenty minutes Natsu was talking and Gray was listening, having himself seated on chair he pulled from the main table. Story progressed and Natsu filled in holes that Gray was not present to see yesterday, everything from before park to what happened after they left. Even though Gray was _happily dating_ he couldn't deny that everything about Lucy was very alluring with way Natus was describing. A bad thought for him but he couldn't deny it. Greatest of shock, however, came when Natsu described what happened when he was leaving the house. It wasn't shocking that Natsu got kissed… It was as common as breathing but it was the way he was describing it that made it unique. Everything from the feel of soft lips right down to how his guts turned inside out, it was very descriptive and vivid almost as if he was right there when it happened and it became all too clear to Gray. It was clear why Natsu was feeling the way he did.

"Okay, stop… you are feeling something for her and I am telling you now to stop that." Gray said, bringing small frown to appear on Natsu's face.

"Why?"

"Because she is not right girl for you, that's why. Look… as mentioned before you are… asshole… I can't lie because you behave like one and I have seen what kind of girls you go with… I just don't think it is going to work."

"Come on Gray you are supposed to watch my back, we are supposed to be a team!" Natsu protested, feeling slightly betrayed by words that Gray was saying.

"We are a team, Natsu, and because we are a team it is my job to keep you out of trouble. Hand to heart, how many times have I stepped in to pull you out of the shit that you created because you flirted with wrong girl?"

"Can't be a big number…"

"Ten times this year!" Gray responded in louder voice, feeling that he needed to further reinforce his argument with volume of voice which was effective tactic against Natsu "Last one was two months ago at Sabertooth and you were flirting with girl who came with boyfriend and two of his friends. He wanted to level your face until I stepped to even the odds. Did I want to have my face look like remnant of World War I? No I did not but I still did it because we are friends."

"So now I am to just give up like that? Don't start that shit now Gray, you didn't do it when you started with Juvia, how the hell am I supposed to just stop now? And more to it why is it that you are suddenly against me going after Lucy when you weren't against me going out with any other girl before?"

Natsu stood up from the couch, eyes fixed on Gray who said nothing. His very head wanted to burst from sudden anger… he felt rage that was filling every pore of his skin. If it was any other topic, any other girl, Natsu wouldn't feel even fraction of what he feels right this moment. Possessive, yes, that is the feeling that he had now, he was possessive of Lucy even though she was still rejecting him. But something was odd in this scene, he felt it. Between two of them, Gray is the one who is levelheaded, he is the one who brings reason and cool head into any situation but even Gray has his limits and when that limit is passed, when his patience is being broken, he is the one who is more fiery. That fact has been proven times and times in past during their fights and only Natsu knew how he is when he loses his cool. It was beyond doubt that Natsu has severely tested his patience in last half hour and yet… He is silent now… That is unlike him.

It came to him, a sudden realization that struck like a bolt of lightning. It was not that Gray didn't have argument to shove in his mouth, it is the fact he did but clearly wanted to avoid it.

"You know something… do you?" Natsu asked, calmly this time, no less irritated but far more composed.

Gray stood up from his chair and walked away, letting out a long sigh as he paced across the dorm room.

"Yeah…" Natsu said in calm tone but it rose quickly "Yeah! Juvia is her close friend right? So naturally she knows Lucy and she told you something, didn't she?"

All Natsu's assumptions were confirmed the moment Gray nodded. He was elated, a small miracle among the sea of uncertainties to actually have some decent information about her.

"I can't tell you what she told me." Gray said coldly, figuring what his question is going to be "All I can say is that Lucy is a good girl and she is in very rough spot because of mistakes of others. Right now she desperately needs someone to lean against."

"That's all the more reason to tell me. I can't help her if I don't know what is going on."

"She will tell you on her own when she wants to, I can't tell you because I promised Juvia I will keep my mouth shut regarding that topic."

"Really?" Natsu asked displeased "You are going to take her side?"

"You are my friend but I might end up marrying her one day and if I want to make that work I need to work on a thing called _trust._"

Natsu's head bowed forward, he felt more and more defeated by the minute, betrayed even. Gray has always been a good friend but he has a mind that once is being set on something is impossible to avert. He of course sensed that, seeing how pinkette was slowly slipping into desperate waters was not a thing that he could easily just let slip. There was silent cursing, changing one after another in his head followed by _Juvia is going to castrate me_…

"Alright, here is what you can do." Gray said and in that instant Natsu felt elated again as he looked at his friend who at this sight felt instant regret in opening his mouth, but he continued "Lucy really doesn't need boyfriend right now but she needs a friend, something that she started seeing in you and if you intend to be close to her… you have to establish that trust thing with her. She has to see you as a person who can take weight from her shoulders without having to compensate you for it. This is going to be most difficult thing for you considering that you are a manwhore."

"I prefer the term playboy" Natsu grinned wide as he winked at Gray, making him shiver the very instant.

"You slept with four girls in last two months."

"Was it four?" Natsu asked and black-haired student instantly facepalmed.

"Tiffany, Maria, Rachel and Jennifer…"

"Wait who is Jennifer?" Natsu looked at Gray who instantly shot a glare his direction. As silence prolonged his eyes only widened but Natsu received no answer.

"Jenny?"

"Oh…" Natsu added. His mind went blank for few moments as he repeated same word but with long elongation.

"You completely forgot about her, haven't you?" Instead of answer, Natsu nodded slightly "Well, you will have to take care of her if you don't want to screw everything up."

"Yeah I know…"

* * *

On the other side of the town, in the house that previously underwent great cleaning, a certain blonde was sitting on a couch with her bluenette friend and her boyfriend sitting on each side of the same couch, trapping her in-between in awkward position as they would randomly break an argue over trivial things. This is nothing uncommon, nothing that Lucy didn't got used to already… in fact she eagerly welcomed it considering what original topic was. Silently she prayed that Levy will forget why she came. Her luck is a strange thing though…

"Okay, stop!" Levy ordered, making Gajeel silent instantly "We will discuss that when we get at the dorm, right now I want to know what happened yesterday."

"Nothing happened yesterday." Lucy said quickly. "He came on his own and insisted on helping me with cleaning, that is all."

"And what happened in the park?"

"I haven't took Michelle out for a week and day was perfect for it… he just… happened to tag along." Lucy said, feeling slightly uncomfortable that she had to lie but any other way of putting it would make things very complicated to explain.

"So you were in the park… three of you until rest of us came…" Levy looked to Lucy and she nodded "And then he went out to get food for you two, right?" Lucy nodded again, this time feeling where Levy is headed.

"Tha' sounds like a date if ya ask me." Gajeel chuckled, avoiding looking at either of them but he knew he was right. Blonde's cheeks slowly took a gentle color of pink.

"Which we kind of interrupted… Sorry Lulu…"

"It was not a date!" Lucy shouted but quickly covered mouth with her hands, remembering that it was time for Michelle's nap and she feared this much noise would wake her up… Waking up was not the problem, putting her back to sleep was a pain however. No cry was heard and she let out a sigh of relief.

"You can deny all you want but you are starting to like him don't you?" Levy asked. Pink began transforming in slight red.

"No! No no no, Levy I am not liking him."

"Really? Because I don't remember you allowing anyone to be in your house during cleaning, not to mention allowing anyone to help you with cleaning."

"And remember what ya did when I tried to pick Michelle from her stroller first time ya saw me?" Gajeel asked, bringing up memory for Lucy, one she didn't hold as fond "Ya almost screamed my ears off…"

"Sorry…" Lucy apologized for that scenario, knowing that it was Gajeel who from that point who helped her a lot, even when Levy didn't ask him to.

"But point is, you do seem to trust him, don't you?" Levy asked, offering a soft smile as she watched her best friend squirm on her seat.

"Alright, look. I can admit that he is not that big of an ass like I originally thought and yes!" She turned her head to look at Levy who wanted to say something but was interrupted "I will admit he looks… okay…"

"Okay?" Bluenette asked, making Lucy groan loud.

"Fine he is… handsome…" this sentence brought wide grin on Levy's face and at the same time lured dangerous growl out of Gajeel. "But that doesn't change the fact that I don't need boyfriend right now. He said that he wants to be a friend and that's enough for me right now… or ever."

"Lulu… that it a big nonsense… you can't throw away possibility of having someone by your side just because of a single mistake. Things are a lot easier when you have someone to sit beside at the end of day and just share your day, even bad ones… especially bad days. No guy is perfect and it takes some hard work to make things… work" Levy frowned at her own choice of words "Believe me that comes from someone who had to overlook Gajeel's perks."

"Hey my perks are fine, woman!" Gajeel instantly barked.

"Your perks are those of a gorilla! And stop calling me woman!" Levy retorted, shooting a glare at him.

"Well I would've called ya a lady but lady doesn't swing a pan at me!"

"You were swinging a pan at him?" Lucy asked.

"It was because he kept calling me a shrimp! He needed to be taught a lesson!"

"Well ya could've used smaller pan instead of that big ass one! Why do ya even have one when ya can barely cook?!"

Argue showed no signs of slowing down and Lucy was yet again in the middle of crossfire. As much as they both teased her, and they have teased her, there were some fair points that they brought up. First being that Natsu constantly tried to make everything into a date, and seeing as she didn't have one in… years now, a feeling that yesterday could be one was not as disgusting as she originaly thought it would be. She really did manage to pull a full stop on every date she could ever possibly get and that was due to her own choice. It was fear, it was expectation of disappointment that she wanted to avoid, disappointment in hope that not everyone are like… him. She threw away her chances, that was the second point Levy made and she was again right about it.

As arguing continued between unlikely pair, Lucy couldn't but wonder how would it look like… how would it be if she would to allow someone to stroll into her life. The thought terrified her, having to learn about her, about things she so desperately tried to hide, about reason why she cried every night in the shower…

**Surely you could benefit from having someone to help you or at least make you feel better at the end of the day. You are cute…**

Words rang in her head. An uncalled sentence that found its way to swim on the surface of her thoughts managed to explain nothing but for some reason it made her smile. How would it look like? Would that someone really accept her the way she is? Would he run away, would he stay? What if someone would to actually break all her fears and decide to stay by her side regardless of how broken she is. Someone odd, someone unlikely to be the case… Someone… like Natsu?


	17. Memories and parallels

Natsu's eyes wandered around the room. He was sitting on his bed with back leaned against the wall and knees bent up to provide lean for his arms. Sleep eluded him that night; no matter how many times he tried to close eyes and drift into sleep it would simply be dispelled in a way that candlelight scatters the darkness. For his usual self this was something that was new, to stay up all night without doing anything or anyone was incomprehensible… but it happened. His mind had hundred thoughts and every thought had thousand questions but each thought and each question would return to the very root of the problem. _Lucy_. That particular thought always brought same image into his head. One image, one face, one smile and that smile was directed to him.

But if that wasn't enough, if the torment of this new feelings that he couldn't understand was not a sufficient issue then it certainly was the fact that Gray did what he did best and yet again brought some common sense to him. This came in a form of a single question that even Natsu repeated inside his mind over and over in hope that answer would come.

_What if I only like her because I cannot have her?_

Would that make any sense? What would happen if she would to accept him and then his nature would to resurface yet again, demanding to get away from her after obtaining the trophy? What if Lucy doesn't accept that well?

Natsu quickly shook his head violently, ruffling his already messy hair with attempt to force those thoughts out of his mind. There is that possibility, but then he would yet again say her name and same image appeared before his eyes. How could he do such a thing to her? _It isn't truth, no… it is __**not**__ truth and I know it because… because I won't do that to Lucy._

His eyes looked up and toward the small alarm clock that stood on nightstand just beside his bed. It was 5:39, dawn was already there, casting still faint light through his window, illuminating the dark room. Hand slowly reached up and rubbed the face, moving from forehead down to rub sleepless eyes and dry lips until palm and fingers would rub his chin and cheeks, feeling light stubble that was akin to sandpaper. He could try and get some sleep, catch maybe half hour, hour of rest and hope that lectures will not be a torment to his senses. Other option was to get up and spend remaining time preparing himself and perhaps… talking to someone who actually can be considered an adult. The latter seemed so tempting at this point.

With slow movement, Natsu got himself out of the bed, stretching upward as much as his arms and legs would allow… it was time to wash himself.

House was quiet, most likely everyone is still asleep. Wendy never had difficulty getting up early and at this point Igneel was used to his work hours but he never witnessed him or Grandeeney getting up, although in retrospective, it was always Natsu the one who was best at imitating zombie in the morning. It felt good though, being first to get up and stroll through empty house with only small bits of light that Sun casted. It was invigorating even. He walked inside the bathroom entered straight to the shower, followed by shaving that was usually conducted night before instead early in the morning but… circumstances were different. At very end, when all his morning preparations were done, he returned to his room to dress himself and wait for the time when his lectures would to begin. All this would have been a very well thought plan but his nose was invaded by the gentle and mouthwatering smell of burning meat. Breakfast. Yes, breakfast but it was not breakfast that made him walk out of the room and straight down to the kitchen. It was about the one who was making it.

Natsu always wondered how she got up so early, how she had all that energy in herself to be 'dedicated to household' to make meals, to wash clothes, clean… oh yes… cleaning brought vivid memories. Along with sense of determination, there was a sense of guilt that lingered and pulled his neck down like a pair of iron balls strapped onto a collar, tightening with each minute passing. Before he could ask what he wanted, he needed to drop this weight.

He walked to the kitchen and pulled a chair, making her turn to see what caused this sound. She smiled at him, same warm smile she had every day and same one he wanted to ignore. However, she managed to convince him over and over that there was not a single drop of resent in her and each day she started the same way she started this day… with a smile and a simple "Good morning."

Natsu nodded and responded "Good morning." She returned to her cooking and he was summoning courage that was there, but needed a little push to emerge. "Umm… Gran?" he called and she looked over shoulder toward him. There was no way he could back down now.

"Can I… umm… can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked and question was followed by a hard swallow of his saliva that gathered in mouth. Not because of food, no, he was nervous and she noticed it. This wasn't the usual Natsu she knew, one whose attention was always easy to sway and with mind that was fixed on his prize, one who eagerly wanted to avoid her on subjects that would remotely remember him of his own past… This young man was on the edge of his seat, both hands were on the surface of the table table, rubbing one palm against another looking like a boy who ate all cookies from the jar and was there to confess. His confidence was nowhere to be found.

"Of course, dear." Baffled by his sudden initiation of conversation so early in the morning, she turned back to the stove to turn it off and place pan away from the hot surface before she took a towel to wipe her hands and sit at the table across him. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…" mouth said but head was waving "No… ummm… okay, okay… look…" he mumbled "I am… sorry."

She raised her eyebrows at his words, not all of them; just last ones "What for?"

"For everything. I know I was an as-" he stopped in middle of his word that clearly should have ended with –hole. Instead he made a small pause to find more suitable one "-tonishingly difficult to handle in the past and… I acted the way I shouldn't have."

She smiled, wide, radiating warmth that made him even more uncomfortable.

"I know you acted because you cared and I didn't read that right. All the confusion made me say some sh-… to say some stupid things. For what it's worth… I am very sorry…" he finished, taking deep breath and exhaling slowly through his nose, daring not to look into her eyes. Every bad word or bad thought he had that was remotely related to her, every time he would take her deeds for granted believing that she was there for her own selfish reasons suddenly came to him… the weight that was supposed to fall off became even heavier.

"You do not need to be sorry, dear." She said, making him look up at her. "It was long time ago. Long enough to be forgotten."

Natsu smiled faintly at her words "Yeah, I guess you are right." He took a deep breath, feeling relief fill his entire being. But apology wasn't reason why he came to her, as much as he owed it to her, he needed to know something… something that only she knew. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything." She eagerly responded, feeling slight relief as the long-standing knot in her stomach finally loosened up.

"How…" Natsu started but then he abruptly stopped. Feel of slight anxiety rushed through his entire body once again, remembering that he never spoke with anyone about this. Gray was not in for consideration, he desperately needed an adult. After few moments of deafening silence he continued. "How did you come to love my dad?"

"That is not an easy question." She felt caught defenseless with the question but she continued "When we first started dating, Igneel was very different kind of man."

"What was he back then? In high school, that is."

"He was serious, stern but easy to talk to and very determined boy." Grandeeney spoke with gentle voice, almost dreamy as she caught herself reminiscing the past.

"That is exactly like he is now." Natsu rose his eyebrow "I don't see the difference."

"Oh but there was. Women can catch even the most subtle of differences when it comes to men and even though it would seem that he is same person, he is quite different nowadays. Back then, he would often stand out from the crowd in a manner where he would understand when it is good moment to involve himself and when to simply stay aside. All attention would quickly turn to him whenever he would speak, but above that, he always kept his eyes on his goal."

Natsu chuckles slightly, aside from few traits she managed to describe the perfect resemblance between them two, especially the determination which quickly became evident as he remembered how often he would press until he would reach his own goals.

"Sounds like I picked a lot from him."

"Indeed you have." She smiled wide at him, leaning her chin in hand as she leaned forward. "You are spitting image of your father when he was younger, most prominent of traits being the stubbornness."

"I am not st-…" He quickly said but her laughter made his cheeks burn hot and red. "Okay maybe I am bit."

"Oh my dear, _a bit_ doesn't even come close." Her smile was wider, brighter.

"So… it was just that?"

"It was more than enough. I remember when he was talking he would always radiate confidence around himself. I was a shy girl back then, I had only few close friends and not much experience with such boys but when he would look at me I simply couldn't avert my eyes."

"Did he just ask you out?" Natsu asked, digging deeper into the story with great interest but still carrying a sliver of desire to see he could compare himself to his father.

"Yes." She responded "But since I still wasn't all that ready yet, I refused him."

"Why? I mean… you liked him right?" He asked and she nodded in response "So didn't you go for it?"

"He was very attractive man, smart, but I was shy, I did not know what to do. There was disappointment, his and mine and he respected that and gave me time to reconsider but always kept himself somewhere near where I could see him."

Natsu grinned, realizing just how much he and his father were alike, how much they shared same lines of personality and even some of the tactics with only difference being the patience. In retrospective, Natsu was never patient type, not with his hobbies, not with his studies, not with his girls.

She continued, noticing that Natsu was about to lose himself in even deeper thoughts "But eventually, once I gathered my own courage, I approached him and told him that he can ask my father."

He looked at her, confused by her words. "Ask your dad?"

"Customs were different back then. Nowadays, everyone has all the freedom to choose whom they will love but back in those days parents were more conservative regarding their children's partners. If a boy wanted to date a girl, he would have to ask her parents or risk losing every chance to be accepted by them. My parents were no exception."

"And what did he do?"

"He asked." She chuckled and looked away, remembering that moment. "My father was a very strict man who had just as strict requirements from boys if they would to ask me out. Igneel just came in front of him, still in his high school uniform and said '_Sir, I respectfully ask you to allow your daughter to go out with me'_. Naturally, my father declined immediately but next moment, Igneel asked again. This repeated for three more times… my father would say no and your father would ask immediately after. He didn't back down even when my father became very agitated and demanded him to leave the house… he just stood there, tall, with small grin on his face and asked again. I do not know what my father saw in him… maybe it was the determination that every other boy lacked or mirror of himself of younger days… I do not know."

"And that was it?" Natsu asked, his eyes widened as story progressed.

"We went outside of the house and first thing he did was took deep breath and coughed few times. We both felt pressure being gone. First, he laughed and then he just took me by my hand and went straight to a small cake shop at the corner. He wanted to celebrate and that was also our very first date."

"Wow…" was all that Natsu could say. It was nothing like first dates he had with any girl so far. Story described his father being confident but not nearly as _vigorous_ as Natsu is and yet again… he felt infinitely inferior to him. "And that's how you knew you like him?"

"He was simply everything I dreamed about… different, assertive, everything that other boys lacked and because of that my father never accepted them but Igneel didn't back down. That day he managed to capture my heart with a single sentence, repeated over and over. But, as if that wasn't enough, he continued to surprise me."

"What did he do?"

"We didn't have cellphones like you do today. Texting in such a way when you can quietly and secretly talk to anyone was impossible, so, instead of that, he would write me a letter every Sunday."

"A letter?" Natsu asked, raising his eyebrows again.

"Yes, a letter. A small one, often no more than few sentences, placed in envelope and delivered right on my window where my father couldn't find it. In front of our parents, we had to be modest, distant, public affection that exists today was rare and often frowned upon and we needed a way to say things we otherwise couldn't. Every letter was different and always implied more than it was written just to keep me in expectation for another one. And I always did." She allowed herself to let out a single long, dreamy sigh as she yet again remembered small piece of her past.

Natsu was captured by the story, seeing just how different things were in the past but how similar they indeed are. Instead of letters there were texts, instead of sneaking to the windows there were calls. His eyes widened a bit as all that suddenly made few cogs turn in his head… So many ideas, so many things to do that were forgotten. He smiled. For the first time since he saw the endless ice he got a hope in a form of a fiery spark.

"And… is it same today? I mean, you…"

"Still love him?" She quickly interjected and nodded with wide smile "Not one bit less than when we were young and talking over my window. He is different nowadays, more composed, stoic. He achieved all that he wanted in life but he still takes time to surprise me."

It was difficult for him to imagine his father being such a person today, in fact he rarely did see him show much affection to her, but then again, Natsu rarely tried to look and notice. Too busy with his life, too busy with trying to add a notch to notice just what happened inside house. It didn't take long for him to lose himself in his own thoughts, slipping out of the mind that she was still sitting across him, but Gran didn't allowed to be ignored, not when her own curiosity has been piqued.

"Now I have a question." She said, turning to look at him, making his thoughts quickly disappear and eyes focus back on her. "How come you are suddenly interested in how your father and I first met?"

"I was just… curious." He swallowed again as his anxiety skyrocketed again. The truth is, he wanted to know how a girl feels when she falls in love, a term that he so easily shrugged without a second thought. He understood his own feelings to a degree, but Lucy was another story. All he knew is that underneath the layers of make-up, girls held an intricate web of feelings and emotions where one thought led to thousand more. He needed an adult who was in love… who is in love.

"You were curious before but not about these things. Is this in any way related to a girl I keep hearing from Wendy?"

Words struck Natsu like a lightning, making him widen eyes. He didn't know how much Wendy said, for all he knew she could be telling fairy tales of all sorts. Grandeeney slowly leaned back on her chair and placed hand on her lips, slightly shocked at Natsu's reaction that were far too obvious to in any way hide his thoughts… everything she needed to know was written on his face.

"Oh my…" she exclaimed.

"Hold on just a minute." Natsu quickly started, trying to stop her train of thoughts. "First of all… it is not like you think it is."

"Very well, how is it then?" She asked.

Natsu opened mouth, wanting to quickly reject her suspicions but the fact was he had nothing in his own defense, so he continued to accurately imitate the mating call of a carp.

"It's… well… ugghhhhh!" he groaned and bowed his head in exasperation "This stays between us, alright?"

"Of course! I wouldn't dare to betray anyone's trust, much less yours." She replied

"Okay so… There may be… this girl… of a sort."

"Of a sort?"

"Please don't make this harder than it already is." He looked at her, his eyes desperate and cheeks as pink as his hair. "It _is_ a girl. She is strong, determined, she keeps entire life in her own hands all by herself and… I think I may be starting to like her."

"As in girls you usually went out with?" She asked a bit skeptic at his explanation.

"I mean… _like_ like."

For a moment she looked at him and then she gasped, confirming the words that Wendy repeated over and over. "Oh my…"

"Yes well… at first I just wanted her because of a bet and… conquest." His last word came out with feel of disgust rather than pride. "But somehow it turned out the way I did not plan. Before I realized I started liking her and wanting to be there for her. I don't exactly even know how I feel and whenever I ask her, she won't tell me how she feels so… I want to know how girls feel about guys when they… like someone."

It was obvious that every word coming out of his mouth was painful to say. She knew exactly what kind of boy Natsu is, she knew just how 'outgoing' he can be. "Well, all I can tell you is that not all girls like persistent boys, but we do like those who are reliable. If a boy makes a promise to a girl, he must keep it at all costs. Perhaps, she isn't responding well to you because it is not what she expects from you."

"I honestly don't even know what to think." He took a deep breath "I want to be close to her but I also did promise that I will be there for her as a friend."

She nodded "That promise, you must keep."

"I know but… I am not sure if that is all I want… what if I… What if I want more than that?"

"Then you will have to ask her to give you her heart. But Natsu..."

"Hm?"

"You have to understand that before you try and reach for girl's heart, you must first open yours. At the end of the day, it will be your intentions that will determine path you will pick, but if your intentions are not as pure or as she expect them to be, then you will lose more than just a chance to be with her. Trust me when I say this, dear" She leaned forward and slowly waved her head "Broken heart is painfully difficult to mend."

"I know…" Natsu responded. He did felt more at ease, having to talk to someone who wouldn't mock him or tell him to keep away. For the last ten minutes, he had the chance to hear some wise words from woman he so eagerly avoided… what a stupid thing to do. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, dear." She smiled wide to him.

"Don't tell dad about… this entire thing okay? If he hears about it I won't hear end of it…"

"I thought you would be more eager to talk to him about this kind of topic."

"Yea… well…" Natsu changed his tone, from desperate to sore "See, he still didn't forgave me for that time he tried to talk with me about sex but found out I was… in advanced class, so to speak." He chuckled and she responded equally.

"Then, I am grateful that you came to me first. But I must return to making breakfast, your father should come down soon."

Natsu nodded and stood up, returning upstairs only to find Igneel leave bathroom, already fully dressed with baffled look as he spotted his son so early and already dressed. He just smiled and greeted "Good morning, dad" and went to his room.

* * *

Natsu didn't realize until he reached college that sleepless night finally caught up and he felt his eyelids as heavy as lead. However, that wasn't first realization he had. Second one came in form of picking wrong books for the day but all that simply didn't matter as there was another thing that now fully occupied his mind. A peculiar thing with blonde hair.

"Hey, Lucy!" He shouted and ran over to her. She glanced and frowned.

"Please louder, I don't think dorm heard you." Sigh escaped her lips but instead of commenting further she merely turned and started walking toward classroom, followed closely by pinkette.

"It wasn't that loud, besides… I called you for a reason."

"And what would that reason be?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Well, if you forgot then I am here to remind you that we still have paper to write. So when will you be free?"

"Wednesday. I have a shift from 12 to 18 at the cake shop so… everything after that is suitable." Lucy replied.

"Alright, why don't you come to my place?"

"Oh no no no." She quickly replied "I know where that will lead so I will pass, public library will do fine."

"It is not going to lead to that… we are talking about sex right?"

"Yes I meant sex and no, it is not going to happen." She frowned heavily, quickening the pace.

"I wasn't even implying that. What I meant was… I saw your house and room so, why not come to my place. You can stay for dinner and we'll work on paper."

"That sounds remarkably like every other pick up line you have. Plus spending evening in your house has 'rape' written all over. You already asked me couple of times and my answer is still the same."

Natsu groaned and stood in front of Lucy, making her stop suddenly and notice that his face was everything but cheesy and smug. He was angry. "Look, I already told you that I have no intention of forcing myself on you in that way and I honestly feel a offended that you would consider me being such a guy!" he practically shouted, making few heads turn to look at them, making Lucy feel uncomfortable being the object of gazes. "I already promised you that I will do what I can to be your friend and I am trying to prove that you can trust me. But I can make you a deal, if I so much as try to even touch you, you can leave and never speak to me again and as a bonus, you can spread whatever rumors you want about me I swear I will confirm whatever is said about me. All I am asking you is to trust me, give me chance to prove myself."

Lucy sighed, looking around again before she looked up at Natsu "You have weird mind, you know that?"

"I do. But I can either pretend to be this… patient slow guy that I never met or I can prove myself in way I know how to. Which Natsu would you prefer?"

"Th-…" she stopped, feeling a slight blush creep up on her cheeks. She didn't want to say this but immediate closeness was hard to avoid "The one who is himself… I guess."

"Alright, then I'll pick you up at cake shop at 18. Good?"

"Fine…" she sighed deeply, taking a step to the right to go around him, leaving Natsu to finally catch his breath. Tension almost got the best of him and finally he could breathe again. Smile appeared on his face, widening with every second as he finally managed to find few ways that he can reach out to her, or at least to set a path to achieve that. But then, in that moment, another worm found its way into his mind. A fear. He just realized that he never brought girl home and now that Lucy was to come… he did not know what to do. In the end… he would have to do what he does best. Improvise.

* * *

**A/N: I said to myself that I would spend some time and few chapters that will explain a bit more about how it is to be in house where Natsu lives... I have one more defining chapter involving Igneel and Gran but that is not to be revealed now.**


	18. Drawing lines

"Look who we have here! My good old friends Heckle and Jeckle." Loke grinned wide as he hung his arms across the shoulders that belonged to Natsu and Gray.

"You seem to be in good mood." Gray added to which Loke simply nodded.

"Good things tend to make that effect. Oh and Natsu, didn't your parents told you that a good girl should be presentable before going out? Where is your make up? You look like a zombie with a hangover."

"Fuck you, Loke." Natsu grumbled in low tone.

"Language, Natsu." Blonde student chuckled "What do we have on schedule today?"

"_We_ have practice today." Gray responded still keeping his posture regardless of extra weight that Loke placed upon his shoulder "After that I am free but cranky lizard has an appointment."

"With whom?" Loke asked, looking toward Natsu.

"Same girl." Pinkette gave a slight grin "I think I am making a good progress though."

"Is that so?" Loke's expression slowly turned, slowly losing the ecstatic look on his face with brows that had difficulty deciding if they would rise or frown.

"Not the way I expected to be honest, but, it is kinda refreshing to just hang out."

"Hang out huh?" Loke's voice was low, almost silent. A short glance forward and he noticed girl in question, tapping Natsu once on shoulder and pointing toward her and while pinkette's expression now lit so did Gray's became more and more suspicious. He was almost staring at Loke, trying to decipher every short twitch on his face as if searching for something "You, just hanging out with a girl? I don't think you understand that concept."

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you." Natsu moved Loke's arm from his shoulder and started walking forward "Come!"

"No thanks, another time perhaps." Blonde student responded and removed other arm from Gray's shoulder, fixing his uniform back to being immaculate. Natsu simply shrugged and turned, quickening his pace that would lead him to Lucy.

"You're acting odd." Gray said as his hand reached for necktie and loosened it a bit.

"You are imagining." Loke responded without a second of thought.

"Maybe, but there is something you are hiding."

Wide smile emerged on Loke's face. He offered a slight wink before turning to walk away in opposite direction of hallway. "Come on Gray, what could I be possibly hiding from you?"

Gray looked over his shoulder to see him walk away and after few seconds he looked down at the floor and then forward again toward Natsu who was already in front of Lucy. From the look she seemed relaxed, more so than usual when he would look her way. There was another thought that was stuck inside his mind, giving him no rest. It was a puzzle with pieces that were scattered but somehow oddly enough, connected and each created new question that only next piece could answer. But with one question answered another appeared and all this gave Gray a feeling that there was more to this entire situation than he could see with naked eye. As a rule of thumb, he would never bother himself over Natsu's relationships knowing that those were shallow waters with little to nothing deeper than what he could describe… and Natsu was very descriptive man. But Lucy… it gave Gray odd sense in his stomach that waters around here were deep… treacherous.

He shook his head twice and cleared his mind. Lucy's expressions on the other hand were not hard to read, she was now obviously sighing and her rubbing her forehead meant that Natsu already suggested something dumb and she was trying to find easy way out of awkward situation that Natsu was increasingly proficient in creating. Situation would've continued but fortunately, for her, Gray's loud whistle was more than enough for Natsu to avert his attention and understand _time-to-go_ signal. She was left alone again, moving slowly toward the classroom with downed expression and thoughts lost somewhere in time and space. It appeared to be so severe that she didn't hear her own name being called.

"Lucy!" voice came from behind, making blonde stop walking down the halls of Fairy Tail and look at the source of the sound. Soft smile emerged on her face as she recognized the one who was calling.

"Hey Levy." Lucy responded, waiting for petite girl to catch up with her "How are you?"

"Don't you dare pull that on me!" Bluenette huffed and pouted "You've been avoiding me since Monday."

Lucy sighed, feeling remorse for the turn of events that were beyond her control "I wasn't avoiding you, it's just… I had really rough couple of days." Her tone lowered and in that instance Levy's pretense to be mad all but vanished, now displaying her honest concern.

"Is he still bothering you?" Levy asked and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, he is…" Lucy started walking forward, clenching books that she already held tight in her crossed arms. Levy followed her, walking beside her.

"You know that I can just call Gajeel and have that fixed for you? Really, he is on speed-dial."

"I know and thank you but it won't change anything. He'll just return again and technically… he hasn't done anything wrong… just…"

"I know… you don't need to tell me about it." Levy said "Is there anything I can do?"

"Actually…" Lucy hesitated a bit after first word but after swallowing rock she continued "I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"Sure, what kind of favor?"

"See… I still have to do paper on Economics and I have to grab a lot of research material for it if I am to get all points."

"Since when are you being all skittish to ask me about it?" Levy asked, lifting her eyebrow at Lucy's reaction that became more and more nervous "Seriously if you needed partner for it you could have just asked, no need to call in a favor. We are both attending that exam."

"No it's not that… I already have _prior engagement_."

Levy sighed, showing no signs of hiding her exasperation. "Don't tell me you are grouping up with them again… Honestly Lucy."

"No! It's not them…" Lucy quickly turned to look at Levy. Her level of anxiety was already rising beyond her ability to fully contain it knowing all the possibilities that will go through Levy's head. She wasn't wrong. Levy looked at her and frowned, in her experience if it was not one leech it was probably another but in all those cases Lucy would be annoyed rather than nervous. Petite bluenette is many things but slow is not her trait. Her eyebrows quickly rose and lips slightly curved up into a smile while a small twinkle in her eyes appeared.

"Oh? I think know what it is." Levy quickly rushed to stand in front of Lucy, stopping her right in the middle of hall. Her voice was now deeper, teasing "It is the pinky, isn't it?"

"Please don't call him pinky… it already is weird enough." Lucy groaned, knowing that Levy has reached point of no return in her theories and assumptions.

"Fine fine, Natsu it is." Levy poked Lucy's chest with index finger "You two have been spending quite a lot of time together lately."

"Shush!" Lucy pressed her hand against Levy's lips and looked around "Don't be so loud, I am already having trouble enough with rumors I don't need them to continue talking about it."

Lucy could feel that Levy's lips curved even more and she moved her head enough to be able to talk properly again "So, has there been something?"

"No it hasn't and there won't be. I just don't want things to get… complicated."

"You have been rather stingy about that. Why don't you just try? I mean… what's the worst that can happen?" Levy asked and instead of answer, Lucy simply frowned at her. Once again, Levy understood the little signal. "Ok ok, I get the point, I still think you are wrong but I won't butt in. So, what's the favor about?"

"Yeah…" Lucy sighed and lowered her hand, placing it back on the book. "I didn't plan well since he kept insisting on this and Elizabeth won't be able to watch Michelle today so… Can you come for couple of hours later today?"

"Really? That is your favor? Jeez, we are past these moments so stop it already." Levy frowned heavily at her.

"I know but" Lucy paused "I still feel bad asking you… you have your own life that I shouldn't interrupt."

"Lucy, seriously, enough!" Levy interrupted her. "I already told you before that I am going to help you as much as I can, so no need to be embarrassed about it. What are friends for?"

"Thanks" Lucy smiled softly and her tiny friend responded same way adding a hug that Lucy couldn't deny "You're a real life saver."

"I do have one condition." Levy quickly added, pulling away from Lucy. She was serious, face straight and determined. "When you return, you are going to tell me everything that happened. Every… single… detail… Do we have a deal?"

"Fine, but nothing is going to happen."

"So you say but if you two hook up and have crazy sex, I expect to hear every little juicy part." She almost drooled as she finished sentence, resembling old pervert rather than brilliant student. Lucy had no escape from this and figured that it would be wisest to just give in.

"I won't hear end of it either way…"

* * *

Final bell rang. Doors of classrooms and amphitheaters opened and students emerged on the halls. Some left a painful groans due to stiffness from sitting, others were yawning, cursing the life of student that appeared so attractive while hiding terrible secrets of sleepless nights and lack of caffeine. Gray was not among the later but he could complain about stiffness in the back, fortunately for him, coach Strauss will soon correct this issue. His face pictured amusement as he watched his friend with zombified expression on face, neither alive nor dead, neither asleep nor awake. Tackling him would bring him so much pleasure but before that, he had to hurt him.

In this state, Natsu was perfectly obedient zombie, as long as he can see Gray he will follow without any protest. Fortunately for Gray, it was exactly the way Natsu should be for what he is about to do. They walked out of the main doors and Gray placed hand on Natsu's chest, stopping him. It took him couple of seconds to finally be 'awake' and realize Gray's action.

"Right so why are we outside? Field is on the other side of the campus." Natsu asked as Gray stood in front of him.

"Well because I can either help you or laugh at you. Notion of that later one is very attractive but I would then be a dick so… I am helping you." Gray grinned as he finished sentence leaving Natsu confused at words. Silent expectation that Gray would say something more to clear out this thick veil of his cryptic words offered no result.

"And we are standing here because…?" Natsu repeated his question.

Gray simply tilted head to his left. "Who do you see behind me?"

"I see some college girls gathering… Few dudes from classes."

"Anyone in particular that you recognize?"

"Jenny." Natsu said in lower tone, sound that resembled defeat.

"You're gonna have to finish up with Jennifer first before you go with that little evil plan of yours, Natsu." Gray moved his head back into previous position, obscuring Natsu's vision.

"Why is that?"

"You are not going to be satisfied with being just friend with Lucy for long time. I am saying that because I know you. Sooner or later you will become obsessed with her to a point where Jennifer is going to become jealous or left out and she doesn't deserve that. You have choice of either being yourself or turning new page. Before that later becomes reality you need to make sure you don't hurt anyone, much less girl who believes you like her."

Natsu couldn't argue with words that came from Gray. Everything he said was nothing less than a fact. Asking Lucy out on a proper date was not an option but rather a goal toward which he strived. To be new person for someone else meant to let history be history.

He took a deep breath and moved past Gray, leaving him to stand at the front doors and observe as Natsu approached Jenny. From this distance he saw that she was elated to see him and it made rock in his guts seem heavy. Watching from distance as a girl is being dumped is not easy, even if it wasn't directly affecting him. Small relief came as he felt pair of arms wrap around his chest and chin leaned against his shoulder.

"Hey Juv, have you been following me again?" Gray asked, seriousness on his face was replaced with a grin that portrayed his content.

"I haven't…" She answered quickly, making him chuckle.

"And that's a lie. We both know you are always within ten steps from me."

"I am just making sure you are not being bothered by some random girls that wish to exploit you." She added, puffing up her cheeks in slight pout.

"No you are just looking out for potential rivals that only you believe exist."

"Is that so?" She asked, looking up at him questioningly "And what are you watching now?"

Gray was silent for few moments before responding "Girl…" making Juvia frown but before she could answer he managed to start speaking "But not just any girl. If you look carefully you will see that I am looking at Natsu talking to his current girlfriend."

Juvia looked forward, her clench was still strong and her eyes searched for Natsu. Hair was always a bonus when it came to finding him in crowd.

"She looks angry." Juvia said, tilting her head, enough to lean her own cheek against Gray's who placed his hand on top of hers.

"No, she looks pissed." Gray said, frowning heavily.

"Why?"

"Because Natsu is breaking up with her and I don't think she is taking it well."

"I think that is a bit understatement… did she just slapped him?" Both of them made painful expressions on faces.

"Ain't first, won't be last." Gray said, his tone low and ominous. "And he just made her cry… Kind of feel bad for her right now."

"And why is that, Gray?" Juvia moved her head and looked at him with judging eyes.

"Actually whatever I say right now is gonna be taken wrong, so instead." He grinned and gave her small peck on lips "I will just say that practice is about to begin. Coming to watch?"

She just nodded and released Gray from her love clench, letting him praise gods and spirits for sudden rush of freedom… not that he hated it but Juvia tends to increase pressure whenever another girl would pass by, making sure that what is her remains hers.

* * *

Pain on Natsu's cheek pulsated throughout entire practice. Helmet did good job of covering that even though Gray could notice him moving finger to scratch red cheek. He didn't want to admit but he didn't feel good about setting Natsu to do what he did but he found some peace in fact that it was for his own good. Guilt was present but long runs and Elfman's loud yelling made him forget about it. Natsu on the other hand felt relieved. Despite the world-shattering slap that he received, much stronger than he actually anticipated, he felt good about entire situation, free. No obligations except those he will make. Fresh start, yes that was the thought he was searching for. Clean and fresh start. Among the things he didn't want to admit was the fact that he was slowly changing.

Even when he reached home, the mark of hand was still very much noticeable on his cheek. _Damn_, he thought _just how strong is her arm? Must've practiced a lot_. His gaze bounced from one corner to another. Although his room was pretty much typical for college student it was hardly immaculate. Time came for him to panic a bit. There was absolutely zero chance that he will allow Lucy to see this mess. Clothes hanged on chair, table with books and notebooks, wrinkled sheets and blanket just as he left it this morning as he left. And then there was the smell of stale air that all of a sudden became sore for the nose. She might as well come in, take a glance and just leave or worse… assume that he was not alone in his bed that morning. He frantically began collecting his clothes, taking a good sniff at each of it to determine if it should be left in room or thrown into basket. It didn't take him long to realize that he also needs to open window. Understanding of what 'tidy room' should look like differs from one perspective to another and from Natsu's perspective freshly cleaned room seemed to be sufficiently tidy.

His chaotic mind kept only single thought, making his own private space look appealing and extent of this focus was so great that he completely lost track of time. Eyes barely caught a glimpse of digital numbers on clock, making him utter a simple "shit" before taking his jacket and rushing out of his room and house, barely even managing to utter anything to Gran or Wendy who simply gazed at him with complete confusion.

"You look pale, are you sure you are ok?" female voice asked having rather worried tone.

"I am fine Nea, just a bit exhausted." Lucy replied, trying to force a smile in hope that it will look genuine but without much success.

"You are lying again." Waitress pouted slightly "But I know what's gonna fix your mood."

Lucy sighed "I swear, if this is another attempt to set me up with a blind date…"

"Well I was gonna say your boyfriend just walked in."

Lucy frowned slightly and looked away from her coworker friend and toward the front door_. Of course_ she thought to herself as a certain pink-haired guy walked in, offering a quick smile before walking over to empty table to sit down.

"You want me to take him?" Nea asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"No, he's mine." Lucy took a small notepad from the counter, realizing mistake in her sentence that made Nea giggle. She groaned while walking and just as she reached table she smiled wide, stretching her pink lips that matched her outfit in color "Good day sir, what can I get you?"

"Sir?" Natsu asked, looking around himself. He knew she was referring to him but the word sir kept ringing in his ears as if he was old fart and not college student. "Come on Luce, do we really need to do that to eachother?"

"Shop policy." She said through her teeth, still smiling. "Why are you here?"

"To pick you up." Natsu said immediately.

"Not sure if you noticed but I am capable of going home alone. I am a big girl" Lucy retorted sarcastically.

"Yes, but do you know where I live?" he asked and she was clearly caught off-guard. She took a long pause before responding "No…"

"Would it be better if I have waited for you in your house?"

Another long pause and deep inhale "No…"

"Your shift ends in 20 minutes so I'll wait and in the meantime I'll have a coffee." Natsu's smile was one of a victor, knowing that she had absolutely nothing to say to defend her case. She sighed and wrote down on the pad before returning to counter. There was content in him but also there was a sliver of admiration. She had to wake up early, attend all classes and then immediately come to work only to be followed by them working on the project. All that in one day. He had issue waking up this morning and yet she looked fresh, strong, as if her body has more energy than life can suck from her. Lucy was, without a doubt, completely different type of girl.

Coffee was sweet but in his mind it wasn't even comparable as her, in fact, no confection in the shop would even come close to her. This was a new outfit that she wore, similar to previous one and just as memorable. Short skirt reaching just a bit over knees, blouse had apron design in front, pink in background and white in front with emblem of several cupcakes. And then there was the light make up that probably caught most of his attention. Simple pink lipstick that matched color and made her lips even more desirable and they would widen and curve into smile every time she talked to a customer. Shop policy be damned… no one should see her like that… well no one except for him. His imagination and silent argue went to such extent that he forgot the fact his coffee was still hot and he burnt his tongue on it. She looked his way as he cursed both coffee and his own immediate stupidity. _Did she smile?_ He asked himself as he glanced over at her.

After a while she simply vanished, gone the minute he averted his eyes from her. He looked around, from table to table, trying to find golden hair that cascaded over shoulders, but alas, no such was to be seen. His search was interrupted "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." He took one more sip from now cold coffee and placed bill on the table to pay for it before following Lucy out of the shop.

"What is with your cheek?" Lucy asked as he caught up with her, walking side by side.

"Hm? Oh that…" he stuttered "Ummm… practice run, had a nasty fall on the ground."

"Aren't there helmets?" Lucy asked, slightly lifting her brow, observing the fidgeting Natsu who was attempting to forge a brilliant lie.

"I wasn't wearing one." He responded as soon as it occurred in my mind. "Anyway, we should go other way."

"We are not going at your house yet."

"Why not?" he asked, feeling disappointment rising in him.

"You don't really expect me to go like this, do you?" Lucy looked at him, expecting for him to notice her current condition but.

"What's wrong with your look now? You look like a cupcake" He didn't notice.

"Natsu, I was attending 4 lectures today and since then I worked for 6 hours. I quite literally, stink."

"Really? Huh… Can I take a sni-"

"No you cannot sniff me!" Lucy interrupted him, using her right arm to push him away from her as they walked, letting him chuckle in amusement as her face showed a slight blush and continued "Besides, I still need to pick up books from home."

"Alright. We go to your house and then to my house!" He exclaimed rather cheerfully, lifting his right hand up in sign of another small victory, leaving Lucy to wonder in what sort of mess she has gotten into this time. Despite Lucy's desire to have a quiet time while walking it was everything but quiet and she knew Natsu enjoyed it that way. Reaching her house was a relief for her and she first proceeded to talk to Elizabeth. Natsu didn't pay attention to it; instead he just focused on looking around a bit, not even noticing that she left.

"I'm going to take a shower, you stay here."

"You are afraid I might take a peek inside bathroom?" He asked with a grin.

"No, doors have a lock." She responded walking upstairs, leaving him to stand by the closed front doors. It still amused him how she reacted to his teasing. Ten minutes into the waiting and the sound of knocking on doors was heard. He wanted to call for Lucy but remembered that she is probably still in the shower so instead he turned and opened doors slowly, peeking outside to see who is standing.

"You are not Lucy." Female voice came from outside.

"And you are not mailman." Natsu replied before opening doors fully, letting her get inside. Small blue haired girl in yellow shirt and jeans with bag over her shoulder simply grinned as she walked in. He could swear that the grin she had on her face was far too mischievous than it should be. Instead of saying anything she was simply observing him, studying from two meters away and making him a good deal uncomfortable.

"So…" he started "nice weather."

"Mhm." She nodded, keeping same expression on her face. To say it made him uncomfortable was understatement. She was extremely difficult to read and he knew that smooth talk will do little to no effect not to mention the towering boyfriend who had patience of a Doberman that just saw a ball.

"I'm here for to pick Lucy."

"I know why you are here." Levy's smile became wider.

"You do? So Lucy told you…"

"Everything." She concluded leaving him in even greater discomfort.

"We are just going to study." He replied, hoping it will satisfy her concealed curiosity.

"Mhm."

"Well more like, write the… paper for…" he began to stutter with every word.

"Economics exam." She finished sentence for him and he nodded quickly.

"Yeah that. So… how's your boyfriend?"

"Good. He should come any minute now." Levy answered without giving a single second to think.

"Right… Ok I'll be honest you are now creeping me out a bit." He frowned, reaching the very peak of his endurance.

"Why? I am not doing anything." Levy responded, still having wide, smug smile on her face.

"Yea that's the problem. Why aren't you… you know, being overprotective and stuff? Aren't you girls good at it? Like, threatening me, telling me not to touch her."

"Why would I do that?" Levy asked, slightly tilting her head "Are you interested in 'touching' Lucy?"

Natsu's mouth opened but no words came. Saying no would be a lie and saying yes would be wrong on so many levels that even he could see would probably bury any of his chances.

"I'm taking that as a yes." She giggled "If you want my opinion, I think Lucy could use a bit of R&amp;R if you know what I mean."

The sentence was a shock that went right through his mind. He expected demands to not come closer than length of an arm, ultimatums and threats, anything that he would expect of an overprotective friend… but a subtle signal such as this was last on his list.

"Hey, Levy." Voice came from top of the stairs. It was sign for Natsu to close his mouth and at least act decent despite various thoughts that were currently rushing through his mind. Most prominent ones were those that tried to comprehend her look that was a pink shirt and white pants, nothing remotely fancy but they simply suited her perfectly. He could tease her right now with a comment or two but he was one second too slow.

"Well you look like you're all set for a hot date. And speaking of, your escort is here." Levy said, pointing toward Natsu who widened eyes at her.

"He is not my escort." Lucy said in a groan "And please don't give him ideas."

"Why do you think she needs to give me ideas? I have plenty of my own." Natsu quickly interjected.

"Yes but you don't need her to give you more." Lucy finished as she came close, taking her bag off gave to Levy who simply hummed. "What?" she asked as he looked at Natsu.

"Nothing. Is your hair still wet?" He asked.

"Hair dryer is broken." Lucy replied as she walked toward the mirror "Why do you keep starring?"

"I am not starring!"

"He is." Levy added.

"Well look at her!" Natsu pointed at Lucy with hand "Fresh out of shower with still wet hair and shirt that stick to her more than it should! How can you not stare?"

"I know." Levy quickly replied "Doesn't that just make you want to pull her out of those clothes?"

"Actually I was thinking that exact same thi-"

"Ok out with you!" Lucy groaned as she took bag from Levy and pushed Natsu out through the door "Before you get any more ideas!"

"Oh come on, I just started to like her." Natsu pouted.

"That's what worries me!"

"You two have fun!" Levy was laughing as she closed front doors, taking another glance through the window at the pair. Despite the fact they moved onto the sidewalks she was still pushing him and he didn't seem to mind. As they moved away from her sight she moved onto the couch, leaning back. _I wonder if she will notice_ she thought.

"You didn't have to make a scene; she was just saying what we were all thinking." Natsu said as he was walking beside Lucy. It didn't need great eye to notice the angry expression and a blush on her face.

"And I am better not knowing what else you two were thinking." Lucy replied and suddenly stopped, unzipping her large bag to look inside.

"Whatcha looking at?" Natsu asked as he stopped and stood in front of her.

"Trying to see if I brought keys." She frowned but that frown suddenly turned. Her hand reached a bit deeper and slowly pulled out an object that she knew wasn't supposed to be inside. Natsu's looked at it, then at her to notice her shock.

"You know this is just cruel, Luce." He said as he narrowed eyes at her "I mean this is just teasing."

Lucy looked up at him and then down at her hand, remembering that she in fact did gave her bag to Levy for brief moment "Oh Levy, I am going to kill you…" she uttered as she gazed at two condoms that she was holding.


	19. In dragon's den

**A/N: This is going to be long chapter... you have been warned. I suck at short chapters, I really do because there are so many things I want to say, so many moments I want to include, so please endure it. I did took few suggestions you threw in, mostly ones about Levy and to be honest I found that this personality fits her very good for the purpose of my story. But more about that in next chapter, for now, enjoy.**

* * *

Pair walked in silence. It has been good twenty minutes since the event that placed Lucy into very uncomfortable position. Fact that the culprit was Levy did very little to repair the awkward silence, however, fortune comes at most unusual moments in form of a boy who somehow knew how to break silence and make things a little better… or a lot worse.

"You are making a big deal out of this, you know?" Natsu said, glancing over at Lucy who was locked in prolonged and difficult battle to keep blush from appearing on her cheeks. "Really, I mean… so she made a little joke."

"Can we drop this?" Lucy asked, lifting both of her hands to cover her face. She stopped walking.

"Man you are taking this bad." Natsu chuckled, walking up in front of her but keeping distance.

"It's not…" she started and then took a big sigh "Not like that alright? She does that all the time."

"What? She often places condoms into your bag?"

"No! She just… likes to push me to… be with a guy."

"And that's… bad?" Natsu asked, tilting head a bit in hope to see her still obscured face.

"She doesn't mean bad but I can't convince her that I don't need a guy." Her hands lowered and she started walking again, not sure if she is going in right direction but Natsu followed her and that was enough of a sign for her. He was not content with the answer. Instead of usual annoyed feeling that he would have when girl is ignoring him, now it was a feeling of disappointment.

"Right…" he answered in lower tone, hiding his silent defeat.

"I don't even know where I am going now… where are we going?" She turned to look at him and his face quickly changed expression.

"Actually, we're here." He pointed toward the house, thirty meters in front. As they approached she had a better look at it. Yard was spacious, fence made of iron protecting neatly cut grass, separated by a path that led from gate to the main door with ornate rocks on each side. House itself was likely three times as large as Lucy's, had a distinctive brick facade, dark red with white window seals. It was two stories high with roof made of dark green tiles… she could argue that it was perfect representation of a typical sub-urban house, stationed near the center of the same.

"You live here?" She asked as she eyed house up and down. "Guess I was right…"

"About what?" Natsu asked as he opened gates.

"Well when I first saw you during first year you appeared like one of the rich kids. I wasn't wrong."

"Wasn't always like this. At first it was no bigger than yours but dad worked for it. Been several years since Igneel became partner at law firm and year after year it kinda got bigger."

"Igneel?" Lucy asked as she passed through the gate.

"Dad. Actually you'll get to meet him… and the rest of the insane squad."

"Is that so?" she turned and glanced at him, raising eyebrow "So this is another one of your elaborate scheme and main objective is for me to meet your parents."

"Hey hold on, cupcake." He waved with both hands "I didn't pick who gets to be at home today but it's in your favor that we ain't alone."

"How so?"

Natsu grabbed doorknob but didn't turn yet. "Well imagine if we were alone and you had to suffer me walking around the house nak-"

"Ok I get it! No running around naked, please."

"Thought so." He chuckled and opened doors, letting her enter first and he followed. First glance revealed nothing unusual, in fact, no one was around. It was only after he closed door that another voice could be heard.

"Natsu, can you please go and pick up- oh…" silver-haired woman appeared from kitchen, still holding towel in her hands, slightly startled at the unusual 'apparition' that stood by the doors… and to make things worse she had beautiful golden hair. "I am sorry, I didn't know you brought a friend."

"Good evening, I am Lucy." She said, extending her hand a bit shyly.

"Pleased to meet you, Lucy." Gran took her hand and shook, having a small smile that hid her confusion. Her gaze turned to Natsu who was behind Lucy and his look was anything but confused. He looked around, then back at her with single finger over his lips. She didn't need anything more to be said and everything was understood in a single second. "On second thought, I am sure you two have a lot to study. I will ask Wendy."

"Yeah, thanks." Natsu responded, nudging Lucy to move along and she responded well to it, instantly starting to walk to avoid another awkward moment.

"Has Natsu-nii returned?" petite voice came from upstairs and soon the physique followed the voice. Wendy was, however, a lot more surprised than her mother and she was not discreet about it. "Hello!" She responded, walking down the stairs only to stand in front of her "I am Wendy."

"Pleased to meet you Wendy, I am Lucy."

For a few seconds Wendy was just looking at her, raising the probability of awkward moment occurring. Natsu on other hand had a bad feeling in his stomach, as if something bad was approaching. Wendy more than anyone in the house understood the situation Natsu is in and just how rarely he brings people. Every second was more difficult than the other, heavier, longer… tension rose as Natsu expected something to come out of Wendy's mouth. Something disastrous, something sinister…

"My pleasure." Wendy responded, smiling wide at her "You are pretty."

"Oh, thank you." Lucy smiled a bit awkwardly "You are very pretty yourself."

"Wendy, sweetie, come here for a bit." Gran asked her, leading her toward kitchen and giving Natsu much needed room for escape. He nudged Lucy again and they started climbing upstairs. He could have sworn that he saw Wendy gasp as she was walking toward the kitchen. As soon as they entered room he closed doors behind them, letting out a long, deep sigh.

"I swear they are going to be responsible for my death…" Natsu grunted, leaning head against doors.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, not even bothering to look at him and instead she was inspecting his room "They are nice."

"Yea, to you… wait till you get to know them better."

"And you are already making plans for that event?"

"No it's just… general expression… because I know them and little imp is going to storm you with questions later." He grunted yet again, taking off his jacket and threw it over his chair.

"Huh… so this is fortress of solitude…" Lucy commented as she looked around. Room had only one bed, located at the opposite end under the window. Next to it was a small nightstand with clock that showed signs of severe abuse and on other side was a desk, books scattered across the surface. Walls were covered in various posters, most of them being those of various sport superstars however there was one that grabbed her attention.

"Billy Idol?." She asked.

"Yeah, I don't often listen but he has some neat songs. Why, do you like him?"

"I used to. Actually I had one favorite song from him… well more like lived up to it."

"Really? Which one?" He asked eagerly but she waved her head

"I already told you more than I want to. Shall we get started then?" She asked, taking off bag from her shoulder."

"Yea sure, make yourself at home." He pointed toward his bed, expecting for her to make a comment or send him deadly glare but instead she simply walked to it and sat down. She opened bag and from it she took two books and laptop. Despite heavy desire to sit beside her, Natsu knew it would be a very bad idea, so instead, he took a chair and turned it around, sitting on it and placing hands on the lean.

"Old model." He commented. When she looked at him he pointed toward her laptop.

"Yeah… Levy gave it to me last year when she got new one." Lucy smiled softly and turned it on "I needed one for college since only printed papers are accepted and I don't have time to use ones at University's library. I am grateful I even got this one."

"You want me to type? Make things a bit easier for you."

"How fast can you type?" She asked as she looked at him.

"Well… ummm I am not… completely bad…"

"Then best let me do it." Smile appeared on her face "I am used to it and sooner we finish, sooner I can return."

"Geez, you just came here and you are already planning to escape…" he huffed, having again that feeling stuck in his chest.

"Natsu, it's not like that… I am not planning to but I left Michele at home with Levy and she has her own life. I shouldn't be taking that from her."

"Hold on…" Natsu leaned a bit forward "We are talking about same girl who gave you condoms, right?" she nodded awkwardly "Yea I thought so, unless her definition of sex is a quickie she'll expect you to return at dawn. You're fine." He chuckled a bit and his head turned and eyes glanced at his bedroom doors.

Despite the feel that she should protest that, Lucy decided not to. He had a point at least in this matter. Levy would probably expect Lucy to come home late but that still didn't give her much comfort… well maybe just a little bit. She opened book, finding appropriate page and began reading, typing everything she found important. Progress would've been much faster if it weren't for Natsu's constant interruptions and for some reason, it didn't bother her nearly as much as she thought it would as most of his comments were in forms of jokes about what she was typing about.

"You have internet here?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah I do. What, you don't have it?"

"You are confusing me with someone who can afford to pay for it. Usually I use one at college or library."

"Oh yeah, that. Sure… let me type it in." He stood up and reached for her laptop but she pulled it away from his grasp, lifting eyebrow "You don't trust me?"

"Knowing you? I bet you'd just try to find naked images of me." She commented with grin.

"Wait, you have those?"

"Maybe…" She teased "But why would you need them?"

Natsu was caught in tight spot. Any answer would be completely wrong and could potentially cause her to inflict immense emotional pain to him… perhaps a bit physical too, after all his groin was within reach of her leg. Instead, he lowered his head and shut his eyes tight, groaning for a moment before looking at her.

"Let me type in the password."

"Trust me I am big girl capable of typing."

"You are not gonna like it…"

"I am sure I won't, but, I can do it here or I can go to public library."

"Fine fine…" he groaned again and sat on chair "Natsusexmachine… one word, capital "N" and no commenting alright?"

Lucy started laughing, briefly stopping in middle of the typing to cover her mouth. All this led Natsu to receive color on his cheeks closely resembling his own hair. He was glad that she finally laughed and this is first time he heard her actually laugh. But then again she was laughing at him and that didn't make him feel particularly good… in fact, for a split second, he wanted to just walk out of the room.

"Are you done?" He asked as Lucy's laugh was subsiding.

"Sorry…" she stuttered a bit as she wiped tears from her cheeks, finally catching up air "I don't know what got to me."

"Well I am glad you find me funny." He commented sarcastically.

"Well… it's you. It fits your character." She returned her gaze to screen, typing in rest of the _profound_ password. "Although image was kinda funny."

"Wait, what image?" he asked, leaning a bit forward.

"No, nothing, forget about it."

"Hell no, you started it you have to finish it. What image?"

"You are not gonna like it." She repeated his statement.

"Try me."

Lucy stopped for a bit, grin never left her face and her eyes met his. "Well when you said it I kind of imagined you standing on a table in thongs with rose in-between your teeth."

"Wow." Natsu responded, widening his eyes "That actually… I didn't try that before. I don't have thongs although I can probably grab a garden flower… there are plastic ones too, wanna see that?"

"No no no!" She quickly waved both hands and quickly covered her face, partly to calm herself while other part to spare her from teasing that Natsu would probably do if he saw her red cheeks. She rubbed her face, making her skin react and receive faint red texture from the pressure, hiding the previously mentioned blush and she returned her attention to laptop. It already was half hour since she got here and she only managed to write single page and if she wanted it to be good, it had to extend beyond five pages.

Natsu was left to watch her, observe silently as she poured all her focus into her work. His mind was mostly calm but same couldn't be said about his racing heart that could be felt on the very surface of his chest. Fingers rubbed one against another as tension in him rose and decision for bold move was made. He stood up and moved to bed, sitting beside her and much to his surprise, she didn't object but it was clear that she noticed him. Next step in his repertoire was to place hand on her shoulder but that would end faster than he could say his own name. Instead, he leaned a bit to her side, enough to see what she is typing.

Lucy didn't want to admit to herself but his closeness was more than just distracting. A minute ago every single word she typed was correct and she didn't need to even delete any in order to spell it better but now… every third one was either missing a letter or was typed with one too many. She stopped, averting her gaze to book in order to see if she can use anything else but that was the cover… She already knew everything there is to know about contents of the page but she needed a minute to collect her own thoughts. Being used to constant pressure had its perks and within a minute, she yet again regained her own composure and focus.

Though Lucy was back on track, she did occasionally glance at Natsu who had this particular look on his face as if he is about to unravel the great mystery of existence… in truth, he was contemplating on how he can turn word 'consumerism' into a dirty joke.

"Okay what does that mean?" He broke the silence.

"What?"

"That." He moved hand and pointed at the screen.

"Customary pricing? Well that is a practice of establishing a price with intent to not change it over a long period of time."

"Huh… well that makes sense…"

"You don't even know what it means, do you?" She asked in lower voice, fully knowing what he will answer.

"Not one bit." She was right.

"Well what you need to know is that it creates a positive effect for certain products as people can rely on the same to have same price despite fluctuation on market. It can be double-edged sword; sometimes other companies that produce similar products will adjust their prices to yours or risk losing profit. But if someone offers product will lower price, people will buy that other product at which case you will suffer lesser profit. Positive side is when prices fluctuate and you have same price, buyers start to buy product for the sake of supplier or seller rather than for product itself, thus you build a mass of loyal customers."

"But if someone else puts it for lower price, wouldn't it be smarter to lower your price too?"

"Yeah but then it would no longer be customary pricing." Lucy responded and returned to typing, having Natsu occasionally comment and ask for explanations. She didn't mind, in a sense she felt good about it, having to actually be one to lead conversation… dare say "teach" someone. Natsu was like a child, easy to guide and she adjusted every explanation with easier words for him to understand even to a point of using simple examples.

Natsu on the other hand quickly caught up on this practice and felt as if he was being indeed treated like a child. Safe to say, he was not fond of it.

"You know, just because a term is unfamiliar, doesn't mean I am completely idiot as you stigmatized me…"

"I didn't stigmatize you as idiot." She looked at him, frowning slightly.

"Oh really?" He sat a bit further away from her on the bed, crossing arms and placing legs up. "You have my number in your phone?"

"I do…" she responded reluctantly.

"And what did you put as a name?"

Lucy opened her mouth but she quickly closed them "How do you know about that? Have you been looking through my contacts?"

"Maybe…"

"Natsu!"

"It wasn't on purpose!"

Lucy frowned even more, her tone quickly became angered "Oh and you accidentally found my phone and it was accidentally unlocked with contacts on display?"

"Hold up, hold up." He quickly placed his hand on her shoulder but before she could smack it, he quickly removed it "First of all, it was back when you fell asleep on the bench after Sabertooth incident. I didn't know where you live and if I brought you here you would've gotten all the wrong ideas. I had to find someone and ask where you live… and that's when I saw the Idiot contact with my number on it."

She sighed, deeply. As wrong as it sounded he didn't do anything bad and perhaps she wasn't all to fair with him.

"Well you haven't exactly done much to prove it otherwise."

"I deeply resent that." Natsu responded.

"Very well. If you give me a good idea on the subject of marketing I promise to change your name in contacts from _Idiot_ to-"

"Raging sex machine!" He quickly interjected with wide smile to which she involuntarily giggled.

"To Natsu. Good enough?"

"Alright I will take that bet!" He exclaimed and stood up from bed. At first he was just standing at one spot but soon he began pacing around the room, letting out slight hums every time he would pass by. Lucy watched him with great interest, waiting to see what pearls of wisdom he will spill in his moment of absolute brilliance. She didn't have to wait long.

"Hot girls!" He said, turning toward her with expression of a man who just discovered that world is round.

"Of course…" she answered in rather disappointed tone.

"Hear me out." He walked over to his desk and took his phone, finger quickly tapped on screen as he was trying to find something. "What would you say is the best-selling product for women?"

"I would say cosmetics." She responded.

"And mostly you see lotions, make up, soaps that make skin smoother, right?" she nodded "And, who are models for these products?"

"Well, women, obviously."

"Hot women." Natsu corrected her "You see someone advertising a make-up, girl is not 80 kilos, she is usually model, right?"

"True… Where are you going with this?"

"Here." He handed her phone and she looked at screen, seeing the image of a teenage girl who indeed looked beautiful holding mascara in her hand. "Advertisers actually play on the card that their buyers are easy to manipulate and they send message that if girls use their products, they will look just as hot, even though they are missing 99% of other important items."

"Right…" She said, seeing a pattern in his words.

"But more than that, they want girls to believe that if they use those products, their lives will become something else… glamorous or rebellious, something that is gonna make men go crazy about them. Same goes for perfumes. Not someone that looks like she just ate Moby Dick but instead a smoking-hot blonde chick in a strapless dress and red lipstick. Was it perfume that made a guy on the advertisement come sniff at her? Hell no, she could smell like a donkey's ass and guys would still swarm at her… but they want girls to believe that overpriced perfume will make them desirable."

"Now look at the guys." He took a step to his right as if to even symbolize his sex-shift "Same thing, guy sprays deodorant and his girlfriend just comes at him and hugs him from behind. Is it because of deodorant? Fuck that, he is a 190 with a body made out of marble and stubble… There is a commercial where some celebrity sprayed his own brand twice, walked down the hall and three hot chicks opened door and came out to look at him. Producers want guys to believe that if they smell like that, chicks are gonna go nuts for them but painful truth is you can bathe in it and if you are ugly your chance of scoring a hot chick won't go up unless she is drunk… and blind."

"That's… actually true." Lucy admitted.

"But that's not even half of the basket with dirty tricks. You know how in supermarket there are those who promote certain products?"

"I do."

"There are no guy promoters. Usually it is a girl, half as cute as you with double the make up to make her look attractive, wearing some apron and who does she aim for? Single guys. Why you ask? Because if she tries to sell it to couple, one of them will not be interested and pull the other so… she picks those who come alone. She smiles, offers him a product, make cute small flirt moves just enough to reel him in. He can't escape! Already feeling uncomfortable but he likes how she is moving toward him. In the end, he buys whatever she is selling because he likes hot girl flirting with him. What single guy in right mind wouldn't want that?"

"Someone who is probably gay?" Lucy commended with a smile.

"Way to ruin my speech Luce…" he groaned slightly.

"Sorry." She giggled "But you do have a point there."

"Damn right I do. Only thing that sells product better than hot chick is a half-naked chick." He finished his presentation with a proud conclusion. His head turned again at doors and with slow, careful movements he began walking toward it. "Say… why don't you take off that shirt?"

"Come again?" She asked but instead of any response he simply pressed finger against his own lips. Once he reached doors he grabbed doorknob and turned it, opening them wide.

He didn't need to look… he knew exactly who was standing there. Gran suddenly turned, pretending to clean the dust from the door frame while Wendy was the unlucky one and stumbled as she lost her lean. Natsu inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, looking down at the ground with his back leaned against the door, placing two unlikely spies in an uncomfortable position.

"Really? Eavesdropping? You should be ashamed of yourselves…" Natsu said as he looked at them.

"We were just passing by, that's all." Wendy quickly threw in excuse at which Natsu just nodded, not believing single word she said "Oh and dinner is almost ready so when you two are done…"

"I don't want to be a bother." Lucy said.

"Oh dear it is no bother at all. We would love to have you as our guest." Silver-haired woman said, leaving her little act of cleaning.

"We'll be down soon, now off you go!" Natsu responded and closed doors. He pinched bridge of his nose "See what I have to deal with every day?"

"I really don't think I should be staying."

"Trust me Luce, it's not you who's gonna be in awkward position. That spot is reserved for me." He sighed "How much more do you have to write?"

"Well just what you mentioned. Gonna need couple of minutes to put it all together and to write names at the end."

"Just yours." Natsu corrected her.

"I can't do that, you helped with the paper." She looked at him with questioning look.

"Yeah but I don't even have this exam." He chuckled, leaning back with elbows on the bed to support him.

"Then why did you work with me?" Her voice suddenly rose.

"Because I made a promise." Natsu responded, smiling wide as he returned to chair and resumed watching her in silence as she typed. Painful truth was… he could watch her type all day and all night. Finally she let out a deep sigh and moved her head from side to side. "Done?"

"Yeah." Lucy responded and saved document before closing her laptop and placing it in bag along with other books she brought. They walked downstairs and toward the dining room. Table was already set with food on it and it already made Lucy feel slightly uncomfortable as everything that was on the table was more than she could actually afford. At the head of table Ingeel was sitting, comfortably waiting for everyone to gather and upon seeing Lucy he stood up.

"You must be Lucy, correct?" he asked as he politely extended hand toward her.

"Yes." She responded and lightly shook his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Lucy. Natsu usually doesn't speak much about his friends so you will forgive me if we appear a bit curious. Have a seat." He instructed and both of them sat down. At first Lucy felt slightly intimidated. Man before her had strong facial lines with stern impression but as conversation during dinner went on his questions were less stressful for her. In truth she grew so much accustomed to eating quickly. Long meals and conversation to this extent were alien to her. Natsu was eating in silence, carefully listening to conversation but he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen… a calamity of great magnitude was approaching.

"Are you Natsu-nii's girlfriend?" Calamity struck and Natsu choked on piece of meat.

"No, we are just colleagues." Lucy responded, feeling that she herself might choke if another question is to be asked "He is helping me with studies from time to time."

"Natsu is helping you with studies?" Igneel looked at her, slightly frowned and in complete disbelief of what he is hearing "My son? I find that difficult to believe since he barely is helping himself. Still I hope he hasn't been too much of a bother."

Boy in question closed eyes and silently prayed topic would shift. He was correct when he said that it will not be Lucy who will be placed into uncomfortable position. Wendy's giggle didn't help his situation.

"Well actually, he is not bad. He even helped me with house cleaning." Lucy continued and suddenly felt as all eyes were suddenly fixed on her, watching her in complete silence.

"Natsu-nii… cleaned?" Wendy asked, looking between two of them.

"Natsu?" Igneel asked and turned head toward him "You cleaned someone else's house? All by yourself?"

"Yeah dad, I did, can we please skip that now?" Natsu growled silently making Lucy suddenly remember Gray's words.

_He is the guy who runs to hide in my room at the dorm when spring cleaning starts. I have him almost every weekend there and I have never seen the guy wash the glass he was drinking from…_

Lucy looked toward Natsu and he was still struggling, holding bridge of his nose with eyes closed shut. She knew that pose, it was the look of a man praying for earth to open up and swallow him. Being at center of attention, at least this kind was last thing he ever wanted… to have his flaws exposed by his own family. She felt a bit sorry for him, realizing that she is the reason for his uncomfortable position and it was something she wanted to avoid… hence that desire to not stay for dinner. Still she couldn't just stand up and walk away… that would be beyond disrespectful but she could attempt to draw attention away from Natsu. What she didn't notice was Igneel's gaze that was fixed upon her. There was a growing suspicion in him.

"Well I do not know how you accomplished that but you have my gratitude." Igneel said, not minding Natsu's growing grunt. "Then I presume you are not staying at the dormitory?" Igneel continued.

"I rent a house here in the city."

"Living alone?" he asked.

"With sister." She answered but that only further fueled Igneel's interest.

"Is she attending college along with you?"

"Well she is two and a half years now… so, not exactly." Lucy said, swallowing last bit of meat with extreme difficulty.

"How are you managing?" Silver-haired women interjected.

"Somehow." She joked, trying to ease her own sensation in stomach that kept tightening with each question.

"And your studies?" Igneel asked.

"I am on the economy branch of Fairy Tail."

"That is not an easy one. Are you on scholarship program?"

Lucy nodded "I am still lacking some points to retain scholarship for next year and Natsu is helping me with essays to get them. I cannot afford tuition fees of Fairy Tail, at least not with part time jobs."

"Where are you working?" Igneel again asked.

"Well I got fired on Monday from grocery store so now I still work as waitress at Sabertooth and cashier at local cake shop."

"You had three jobs?" Gran asked and Lucy nodded.

"It is tiresome but I am managing." She smiled briefly "Not easy working night shifts as waitress but it pays well and that is what I need right now. I am not complaining."

"What about your parents? Aren't they sending money for support?"

Lucy's gaze lowered, staring at her own plate "They are… dead."

"I see. My condolences." Igneel said in softer tone. He watched her closely again and seeing as she slowly moved hair behind her ear he again decided to ask "Would you mind if I ask what is your full name?"

"Lucy Heartfilia." She answered, already expecting another question.

"Ah, never mind then." Igneel smiled softly resuming his meal. He had more questions but felt that it would be inappropriate to ask, especially considering it is first time they met… nevertheless there was a small bug inside his head that kept giving him a hunch. Clock on the wall showed 21:00 and it was time for Lucy to go. She stood up and thanked for the meal before leaving, followed closely by Natsu who insisted on walking her home.

"I have to admit, she is rather impressive. Not many would have such strength to study, work and look after a child."

"Hmm?" Igneel snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his wife "Oh, yes. She is determined which is more than I can say for other _friends_ of Natsu." He stood up from his chair, intending to walk up to his workroom but he stopped.

"Is something wrong?" Gran asked.

"I had a feeling she resembled someone and her last name reminded me of who she looks like." He let out a silent hum before looking at his wife and then proceeding upstairs "I need check something."

"That was heeeeeell!" Natsu groaned as he walked by Lucy's side.

"I told you it is not wise to have me stay."

"Well not hell for you, hell for me!" He rubbed his face with both hands.

"They do seem nice…" Lucy said in lower tone "You are happy to have such parents."

"I would be happier if they wouldn't put me on spot like they did…" Natsu groaned as they approached Lucy's house. "Now about that thing?"

"Don't worry I'll change your name in my contacts." Lucy smiled approaching the porch "But just to Natsu, you can only dream about Raging Sex Machine. Still… thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"For today… I really had fun, even though I didn't enjoy watching you get roasted."

Lucy giggled as she saw Natsu grunt but didn't complain; even this was a giant leap for him. He was happy to be able to talk to her a bit more relaxed, to be able to be close without her twitching or moving away. It was indeed a big leap. She turned to reach and unlock doors but they suddenly opened, followed by an appearance of angry, short, blue-haired girl.

"You know what time is it?" She asked, confusing both of them, leaving them speechless. "It is not even 10 in the evening… why are you home early? Give me that!" She took bag from Lucy's hand, rummaging inside and much to her great displeasure… she found what she was looking for. She looked up toward Natsu, sending him cold glare "You only had one job!"

"Whoa hold on! I was just there to help her with essay!"

"Don't give me that you wuss!" Levy growled at him.

"I'm… just gonna go now and will see you tomorrow Luce!" He waved and quickly walked away.

"Was that really necessary?" Lucy asked, as she walked inside, followed by Levy who closed doors as they entered.

"Oh he'll live. Right now I am mad at you."

"Why?" Lucy asked, turning to face her.

"Because you are bigger wuss than he is." Levy responded.

"Levy, not everyone can jump from one relationship to another."

"I know that but you also can't have one bad one and decide to give up! How long are you going to hold onto that?" She asked, watching Lucy's expression turn, no longer showing signs of agitation but rather genuine sadness. "Hell, even Gajeel had girls before me."

"Hey don't pull me into this!" Voice came from couch, obstructed by lean of the same as he was lying on it. "My previous accomplishments are not tied to this!"

"Pfff… Accomplishments." Levy snorted "Two girls aren't exactly accomplishment, Gajeel!"

"Two girls? Hey for your information I had three."

"Only three? Geez looks like only I know how to have fun around here." Levy grinned and a head suddenly rose from behind the couch, hair looking like it just caused power shortage for entire block.

"You wanna run that by me again, shrimp?"

"Oh relax you big log. Back to you Lucy, why are you so stubborn?"

"I am not stubborn, Levy! I am just… not looking for a guy right now." Blonde grunted as took bag from Levy and placed it on chair, taking off her shoes.

"Is he too ugly for you?"

"He isn't ugly."

"Is he too small? Too short? Are you into girls now? I can set you up with a friend of mine who is into girls." Levy pressed on and the black messy head yet again appeared, eyes wide as he was listening to conversation.

"I am not into gir… Look you know what happened last time, do you?"

"I know what happened and I am not asking you to marry him. It has been years since that and you really need to move on, not every guy is that level of asshole and you really really… really… need to get laid."

"No I don't! I am perfectly fine the way I am right now."

"Really?" Levy asked, lifting her eyebrow as she moved close to Lucy "So you wouldn't want for someone to just… grab you…" she quickly grasped Lucy's hips with a rather loud smack, pressing up close against her, moving lips close to hers "Rip those clothes from you and just have his way with you all night long, right here… on this table…"

Lucy had no words to say. She knew well how Levy could be and this was no surprise. Gajeel's expression was something new, sporting the look of an owl that just had second cup of coffee as he observed this interaction between them. She returned gaze down to her bright-eyed friend who kept biting her own lip. She would lie to say that she hasn't at least thought about it, once or twice but current situation and studies always managed to bring her down to the ground… still, desire lurked somewhere in her mind and the thought of at least being with Natsu in ways that Levy just described was not completely repulsive. Perhaps… and just perhaps… not everyone will be same.

"Do I have to?"

"Think about it. One night, no strings attached, just pure, raw se-"

"Alright we need to go, woman!" Gajeel suddenly stood up from couch and walked over to them, grabbing Levy by her shoulder and pulling her away. "Was nice seein' ya Lucy but we need to go… college stuff and all."

"Wait, what stuff?" Levy asked, looking confused at her boyfriend.

"Shut up and keep walking you mushroom." He instructed her out through the door, slapping her on her butt enough for her to let out a semi-loud yelp.

Lucy giggled, finally being alone for the first time today. She glanced through the window only to see Gajeel pulling Levy by her hand… well she knew them both to understand what is about to happen and she could expect Levy to be ecstatic tomorrow. Work was done, everything set to be printed tomorrow and give her essay to professor but for now… all she needed was a good night sleep. She walked up the stairs and into her room, walking slowly toward the crib to check on Michelle who was sound asleep. Another day she missed to be with her.

"No strings attached, huh?" She asked herself as she placed herself on bed, being now only in her shirt with phone in hand that scrolled through contacts to find Idiot. Her eyes were fixed on the name… one minute passed, two, five… ten… mind trying to properly process image and thought that represents him. Finally she pressed finger on it and started typing a message, one she is sure to regret but the way she felt right this moment after Levy's lecherous actions… she could use at least one bad idea.

Natsu was mentally exhausted and just fell down on his bed. His hand reached for pocket and removed phone from it. Eyebrows slightly rose as he saw envelope on screen, wondering how he missed to hear the sound of it. His lips curved up as he saw Lucy being sender and quickly opened to read content. Two words were written inside.

"Rebel yell..." he mumbled. It took him twenty seconds before he finally realized what it meant and his eyes quickly turned, seeing poster of Billy Idol on the wall. At first he smiled but then it turned into full blown laugh. "I take it back Luce… Looks like it'll be you who's gonna be end of me."


	20. Their dirty dreams

**A/N: Funny story... I actually just wanted to make this into filler chapter until next when where... actual drama starts but somehow it turned into this. I did use reference from manga that was too good to be left out but the rest... I take full responsibility for beginning and the end. Also as a rule of thumb, I never saw fit for my characters to always speak truth and that leads me to answer to some of the comments. There are and will be some inconsistencies in story and those inconsistencies are first warning that one or more of my characters lied. I know my grammar is far from perfect and I've been meaning to look for suitable Beta but story as a whole, details and such are always carefully planned ahead. Anyway I've bugged you long enough, thank you all for your support and enjoy :).**

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"Yo Natsu!" voice reached from behind and pinkette turned, facing his teammate who had his hand raised "Good game man."

"Hell yeah it was!" Natsu replied and high-fived him. Young man just tapped his once on shoulder before moving on, leaving Natsu to lean against the hall doors. His head turned left and then right, watching crowd of students moving in both directions, minding their own business. It could've been a precognition or perhaps an instinct but something made him suddenly look to the left again.

His eyes widened and lips slightly parted… small shock overtook him as he gazed at her. Among the sea of uniforms she was standing out as only exception. She wore black leather boots reaching up above knees with stockings having more holes than he had points scored; jeans-miniskirt with right leg being longer than left… and that left just barely reached further than bikini area. Her white shirt was ripped, missing good part of fabric around her belly button and left shoulder and through the numerous holes he could see black laced bra that jealously covered her ample bosoms and over the shirt, even so heavily ripped, word "Rebel" could be read.. Blond hair waved down on her shoulders, tangled and wild with few small bundles even falling over her face… And then there was her face… eyes heavily outlined, smeared black make-up left and right with long eyelashes covered in mascara and scarlet red lips that curved into small but mischievous smile. She was going straight at him. There was no grace in her walk or shy steps that she usually had… only raw, unleashed desire that pulsed with every step she made.

"Lucy?" He asked, swallowing heavily as she approached and her soft but strong fragrance filled his nostrils. Her hand pressed his chest, pushing him harder against the wall and as if she was there to measure him she looked down then up. The very moment their eyes met he felt heavy as lead. There were no words coming from her, only a small wink before her lips suddenly pressed against his. Natsu's Adam's apple rose up and down, he did not know how he managed to even do that but the immediate rush of the moment erased any logic from his mind. Soft, gentle… tender lips kept brushing against his until she decided to invade his mouth with her tongue, no longer gentle or soft but wild, assertive and hot… He was left at her mercy right until…

His eye opened and he looked around. Loud, cursed sound filled his room.

"I'm up…" he mumbled but the melody of despair continued. He yelled "Shut up! I'm up!" and reached with left hand, searching for the damned servant of the morning with his fingers . Few moments later and fingers pressed the button, shutting down his alarm. Slowly he turned to lie on his back as his current position of having his face comfortably embedded into his pillow was no longer possible and simple reason for this was… his crotch didn't allow the pleasure of comfort. He was still in trance, still remembering the vivid dream that made his own lips feel as they were indeed touching hers and not the drool on the pillow.

Natsu mumbled incomprehensibly as he slowly sat up on his bed, wiping eyes with hand and looking toward his crotch "Keep dreaming, no honey for you anytime soon…"

"Natsu-nii! Are you up?" Wendy's voice came from outside of the room, followed by knocking on the door.

"I'm up!" He yelled, bowing his head slowly "I haven't even seen her naked and she's already screwing with my brain."

"Natsu, I know Loke was just messing with you when he said that make up joke but damn you look horrible!" Gray said through chuckle as he watched Natsu drag himself toward the seat in amphitheater.

"Bite me." Pinkette grumbled as he sat down.

"What happened to you?"

"Had a… not so good sleep. Just some weird dreams." Natsu said, not wanting to share details that still made him wiggle his own legs in discomfort.

"Is it again one where you are running through campus in diapers?" Gray smiled wide.

"Sometimes I regret telling you that dream."

"Waaah." Gray imitated cry of a baby, making Natsu punch his shoulder, hard. He probably would be able to produce a smartass reply but sound of doors being closed broke his already weak concentration. Mrs. Strauss seemed in good mood which made Gray comment but Natsu didn't even pay attention. He just nodded and smiled, that was neutral enough to at least look like he is mentally present in the classroom… but that was far from truth. His mind was gone the very moment she approached. He was back to his unique and genuine zombie expression. Head leaned on his hand, eyes starring somewhere in the distance and balancing his pen between upper lip and nose. Severity of his condition has reached its absolute peak when Evergreen accidentally dropped chalk from hand and reached down to pick it up, showing rather generous cleavage that made majority of boys, and few girls, drool. Natsu just vaguely noticed her presence in the classroom.

Classes started and ended but Natsu's expression and mood didn't seem to be fading. It was only after practice that Gray finally got fed up with this new "silent" Natsu.

"Alright, spill it." Gray said as they were leaving locker-room.

"Spill what?"

"Don't give me that, I've seen you spend 48 hours up with two practices and three sex-sessions and you still had more juice in you than you do now. This ain't just bad dream, so… spill it."

Natsu sighed… it was true that his mind wandered more than usual but he still jealously guarded details of his dream and this was mostly because he knew what Gray would say. He simply wanted to spare himself of another lecture that he could see coming.

"Just having a bit of a long week and haven't slept well." He said as an excuse. Gray of course didn't buy it but he knew better than to dig into Natsu's mind. It would be easier to handle Pandora's box than to unravel mysteries of Natsu's infinite brilliance and wisdom that was stacked into single book neatly named _101 ways to bang a girl while her boyfriend is away_… a sad truth. One positive side of Natsu's zombification was the ability to lead him anywhere and Gray, instead going toward the exit of faculty, made his way toward one of the amphitheater doors, dragging his faithful sheep along. Over by the door, Juvia was locked in conversation with Lucy, a pleasant one it would seem as both of them were smiling and her smile only grew bigger as she saw her beloved approaching. Natsu was still in his own world.

"Earthland to Natsu!" Lucy spoke in higher tone as she waved her hand in front of his eyes, finally making him snap.

"Oh hey Luce, didn't see you there!" He spoke in elated tone, hiding the fact that his inner voice was screaming by her closeness. She was half meter away from him, with head tilted and eyebrow slightly lifted. Immaculate uniform and very light make-up, complete opposite of one he met in the dream but the feeling was no less intense.

"Yea I noticed." She commented.

"Don't mind him he's…" Gray said but stopped, placing his clenched fist against lips and furrowing brows. He observed boy in question for good ten seconds in silence before speaking "Actually I have no idea what's wrong with him."

"Maybe he needs to be restarted." Juvia jested.

"Nah I think it's a hardware problem. Big head small brain, he gets knocked down during practice, lots of brain-jiggle." Gray added with smile.

"Bite me, asshole." Natsu growled but that didn't stop them from laughing. Even Lucy managed to show a small giggle which made Natsu's inner screaming voice go silent. He wouldn't admit it openly but he loved to see her laugh… even more considering she did so rarely. "How's the essay thing going along?" He asked.

"I printed it this morning and gave to professor. Again, thanks for the help." She added, still keeping her smile much to his delight. That delight lasted until Gray suddenly decided to place hand over Natsu's shoulder.

"You were… helping?" He asked in low voice.

"Not now." Natsu spoke through corner of his mouth but not silent enough to keep it from Lucy.

"Natsu! Gray!" loud feminine voice came from behind, making both of them almost jump from their spots. Their pose was very much similar to those found in military and even Gray quickly buttoned up his shirt.

"Damn it what did you do again?" Gray muttered toward Natsu in low tone as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Beats me, I was good all week. Just act natural."

"H-hey Erza." Natsu stuttered as he slowly turned and Gray followed him. Even Juvia wasn't completely relaxed at sight of Erza, leaving only Lucy to look at all of them in slight confusion.

"There you are, I have been looking for you all morning." Erza said as she stood in front of them. Their reaction seemed unjustified as Erza didn't appeared to be in any form of bad mood… still they didn't want to risk. She then looked toward Lucy and gave small but earnest smile "And good day to you as well, Lucy. I take it you are well?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking." Lucy replied, still not completely comfortable but far more relaxed than two pillars beside her.

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu suddenly said.

"That is good to hear however I am not here to discuss your behavior. Quite the contrary I have rather good news. Guess who is returning to city?"

This made both of them relax a little but, still feeling a bit tense but at very least they could stop keeping their 'pretend-to-be-dead' guards up. They exchanged glances before looking at Erza again.

"Laxus called me earlier today."

"Really?" Gray asked "Laxus is coming back?"

"Indeed and he is planning to meet up with everyone."

"That means party!" Natsu cheered with both hands up in the air. "It is going to be legendary!"

"That is correct. I suppose he wants to catch up with everyone before leaving again. He asked me to inform you about place at time." She waited for Natsu to calm down a bit before continuing "Saturday, 20:00 at his house."

"Great!" Gray added and soon his voice lowered a bit "Umm… Erza? Is it possible for you to… you know… drink juice?"

"I am aware of your concerns, Gray, but I am fully prepared and I have trained my body to endure large amount of liquor."

"You trained?" Gray asked and Erza nodded proudly. "I really want to believe that but need I to remind you last year's College excursion?"

"You need not worry Gray, I am perfectly capable of keeping myself in line. I do expect you two to behave until weekend, understood?" She asked but it sounded more like order. Both of them nodded and she walked away, leaving them to let out a big sigh of relief.

"What happened at College excursion?" Lucy asked. Though she didn't want to admit she was curious as to what happened and knowing Natsu and Gray are involved it was bound to be mischievous.

"See… every Year College organizes excursions. It is not obligatory and you pay for it but it is mostly on some exotic location… week long vacation so to speak with organized to-"

"I know what excursion is." Lucy interjected "Just because I haven't been to one doesn't mean I don't know what it is."

"Right, sorry…" Gray nodded feeling a bit awkward but continued "See, Erza has low alcohol tolerance and on last day before we had to return to Magnolia… we made a party in hotel. She drank too much and proposed we should play truth or dare."

"Really?" Lucy asked giggling a bit "Kids game?"

"Let me reveal you a secret… When you are at 5th bottle of beer, everything is awesome idea. There were around 14 of us in the room; Erza was drunk from first bottle… So she proposed we play truth or dare. We were all a bit drunk and were like "Yea that sounds great! Bring the bottle!". Things started and you know how it goes, you expect some dirty little secrets to hear, maybe dare to kiss someone or confess love, the kids' stuff… It was fun until Erza's turn came and she has devil's luck…"

"So what did she make you do?"

"Well she made us strip butt naked and forbade from covering ourselves. Natsu didn't have problems though."

"I am proud of my body." Natsu chuckled.

"Hey your body is like your dick. Perfectly fine to be proud of it just don't show it to everyone alright? Anyway things went south when she started making people stand naked on balcony."

Lucy started giggling again while Juvia growled, revealing the fact that she knew what happened and that it was Gray who had to _wave_ at the people from the second floor of the hotel. Natsu simply pinched bridge of his nose, though he didn't tell that he had to _wave_ as well.

"So anyway." Gray continued "Bottle kept landing on her and she didn't want truth… she just dared people to do stuff."

"Why didn't you just leave? I mean obviously you didn't want to do what she told you."

"Second great secret about Erza is that she is bad kind of drunk." Gray said, feeling slight shiver taking over as he remembered events that occurred. For brief moment he checked to see if she is indeed gone before turning back "I know it might appear silly to you but people are genuinely scared of her for a reason and when she is drunk she is a demon in disguise. Worst part is she doesn't even remember any of it after… We were all naked except Erza because of the demonic interventions that kept placing her in position to ask over and over… And then came the horror…"

"Horror?" Lucy asked, lifting her eyebrow.

"Erza is not just strong and horrible when drunk…" Natsu explained "She is also kinda kinky."

"And she proclaimed next person she dares is gonna have to have sex with someone in that room but by some extraordinary stroke of luck… it was my turn. We were kinda fed up, wanted to embarrass her and we dared her to strip naked and walk through the hall while yelling "Naked girl coming through!". General belief was she would wuss out but she didn't even flinch! Thirty seconds later she was as naked as the day she was born and parading through the hall…"

"Oh my…" Lucy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah!" Natsu added with a grin "There are even pictures of her doing so. High quality images of her butt."

"I don't remember that part." Gray said, frowning slightly.

"And you should not!" Juvia frowned at Gray "You don't have such images, do you?"

"Of course not! Why would I even have naked images of another girl?"

"If you are smart, you will not." She added and placed a kiss on his lips "I have to go, one more class before the end."

"Alright, see ya sweetie." He returned her kiss and winked at her, watching as she is leaving. It only took couple of seconds before Natsu nudged Gray.

"So, you still haven't told her it was you who took the pictures?"

"Nope."

"And you are not planning to tell her?"

"Not in this lifetime." Gray chuckled "Mavis save us if she gets drunk at Laxus's party."

"Speaking of party…" Natsu started and looked toward Lucy who was still recovering from her giggle "What are you gonna wear?"

"Wear for what?" Lucy asked, looking at pinkette.

"For the party of course! You are coming with us."

"Oh no no… Laxus is your friend, not mine." Lucy quickly added.

"Yea but he won't mind." Gray added "He is generally cool guy once you get to overlook gruff exterior."

"Still, I cannot go. Elizabeth will not be there for the weekend and I can't bring Michelle to a party."

"Why don't you ask your friend to watch over her once more?" Natsu asked and pointed behind her "She's right over there."

"If you hadn't realized already, people have their own lives. I already gave her more than enough trouble… I can't ask her."

"Fine, I'll ask her." He said as he fixed his clothes before moving toward Levy who was standing about 10 meters away from them, locked in conversation with her overgrown boyfriend.

"Wait, Natsu!" Lucy shouted as she followed him in an attempt to stop him.

"Don't worry I will be civil." He winked at her and stood tall before Levy. His voice color changed and he gave his best to imitate British accent. "Why, top of the morning young lady. Say do you mind lending me your ear for a few short minutes?"

"What the hell is wrong with ya?" Gajeel asked, ready to step up but was interrupted by Levy's elbow. She giggled for a bit before straightening her face and looked at Natsu.

"Not at all, I have few more minutes to spare."

"Splendid! See I am in a bit of a pickle." Natsu continued with his accent, although at this point it was more of a mocking than actual attempt to nail the accent. While he was pretending to be gentlemen of a first class, Lucy was as red as she can be and Gray already succumbed to uncontrollable laugh. Nevertheless, Natsu couldn't be swayed by distractions and he continued "I was presented with an extraordinary opportunity to go to a certain gathering and I wish to take our mutual friend Lucy along and show her a jolly good time while playing bridge and discussing global socio-economic issues."

Levy giggled again "So it's a party and there's gonna be loud music and drunken sex?"

"Why what else did you think I meant by bridge?" Natsu rose his brow up. "But problem is we are in serious lack of a capable babysitter to look after Michelle while we are away and I was wondering if you would be able to lend us a hand."

"Why of course!" Levy said despite seeing Lucy wave both hands behind Natsu "I shall gladly lend my aid."

"That will be mighty fine of ye!" Natsu exclaimed cheerfully "The gathering shall begin at Saturady 8 o'clock in the evening. Why, you can even bring your simian-looking chap over there!" Natsu nodded toward Gajeel who frowned, ready to level Natsu's face but was once again stopped by Levy.

"We shall be there." She said and looked at Lucy who covered her face with hands. "Will 7:30 be good?"

"Capital!" He exclaimed before turning Lucy and Gray. She was still red while Gray was gagging from the laugh. His old accent returned as he spoke to her "See? Easy peasy."

"Oh my… oh my…" Gray panted, still stifling laugh but was slowly calming down "That was… I regret not filming that. How long did you practice that?"

"Since this morning. I intended it for something else but this is as good occasion as it gets." Natsu smiled.

"I hate you…" Lucy said, looking at him with furrowed brows and ever-present blush on her cheeks. He didn't mind, in fact for a brief moment he yet again saw the girl from his dream in her eyes.

"No you don't. You need to have some fun and this is gonna be great vent for you. Be ready by 8." He winked at her before looking at Gray who once again busted into laugh "Tosser…"

Lucy sighed, watching both of them walk down the hall. All this somehow seemed like a bad idea to her but in all honesty… she had this small voice in her head that kept telling her to do it. She was, however, very thankful that she was could still pull good act however one bad luck deserves another and she felt two fingers poking her sides and making her jump lightly.

"Levy!" she turned with a frown "Don't do that?"

"Why not? You have such a cute squeal." She responded as she grinned wide "Are you gonna tell me now why you've been odd all morning?"

"I wasn't odd."

"That works on everyone else but me. Spill it."

"It's nothing; I just had an odd dream, that's all."

"Was it in any way connected to a certain boy with pink hair?" Levy asked and she didn't need answer. The raging blush on Lucy's cheeks provided all the answers she needed. "Now I really need to know. Don't look at me like that I won't stop asking until you tell me."

"Fine…" Lucy groaned and moved along the hall. Her classes were done and she was ready to head home, followed by her blue-haired best friend. Previously mentioned simian had to leave. "I was in this… room…

Hallway was bathed in darkness, walls made of pyre onyx that reflected no light and only at the end of it there was a small ray of light. Lucy slowly walked toward it, making soft clicking sound with her heels and as she came close she gently pushed doors open. At first she hesitated but eventually she walked inside. It was something you only see in movies… room was small but very comfortable, illuminated only by the light of candles and at the very center of it was bed. She slowly approached it and with hand went over pure white sheets covered by rose petals… soft touch resembled that of finest of silk, cool and gentle under fingertips. Her eyes wandered around and slowly made her way toward a large mirror and image she saw in it was absolutely stunning. Beautiful blonde girl in red strapless dress and scarlet sandals with hair was neatly tied into a bun, light blue shade on eyelids and dark red lipstick. It took her a little time until she realized that girl in mirror was in fact her.

Soft creak of the doors reached her ears and she turned, gazing upon the person standing in black suit and white shirt, unbuttoned at the top with no tie. Hair revealed a shine, neatly combed back… pink. He carried but a single rose between his teeth. She gasped lightly as she gazed at him.

"N… Nats…" Lucy uttered but he moved closer, pressing his finger on her red lips. No words came from him but she knew everything he wanted to say. His hand slowly reached and removed rose from his teeth and placed it in her hands. Palms clenched around gentle flower as he was gazing into her eyes. Her heart pounded, her breath caught in throat and legs shivered… She knew not what to do but fortunately he seemed to have a good plan. His lips slowly moved closer, brushing lightly against hers, nothing more than a brief touch that made her already racing heart go even faster, harder… she felt as if it wanted to escape. His hand reached and pressed against her chest, slowly pushing her back over the bed… She was defenseless, helpless… but with every second of him being there desire kept growing. He leaned slowly over her.

"Na…" she wanted to say his name again but his finger stopped her lips from moving again. His lips slowly moved closer and kissed her soft cheek, warm and red from all the blood that kept rushing to her face. Hands kept tightening, wanting to tear apart fragile flower but all her strength went missing the moment his lips reached her neck. She closed her eyes and surrendered herself completely. He slowly moved lower…

"You had a wet dream!" Levy said loud, making Lucy quickly press her hand over Levy's mouth.

"Not so loud!" she said and Levy nodded "And it wasn't wet dream, alright?"

"Well what did he do in the dream?"

"He… he…" Lucy started but couldn't finish sentence. In all honesty she didn't need to say anything.

"He kissed you where no man kissed you before and you woke up with wet panties." Levy teased, expecting her to quickly deny but instead Lucy just pressed her lips really tight and closed her eyes. "I can't believe you didn't tell me this sooner…"

"It happened this morning!" Lucy shouted, no longer minding if someone will hear.

"And it still took you this long!" Levy waved her head. For a brief moment she glanced down and up at her "Are you still wearing same panties?"

"I changed them!" Lucy growled and covered her face with hands once more "Ughh… this is so embarrassing."

"No, that is perfectly normal." Bluenette added "And it is also telling us one more important thing."

"And that is?" Lucy asked as she slowly lowered her hands.

"This is going to be fun weekend."

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**A/N: I love me a good dream. This really shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. Now... fun starts. Well fun for me because it only took me 20 chapters to actually start the real drama. This isn't even 20% of the story.**


	21. A good time to fall apart

**A/N: I won't make long rant here... ummm... a lot of stuff happened in life so had to postpone chapter update. Things are a bit more clear so here's another chapter. Thank you all for your continuing support.**

* * *

The big day finally came. If there was any day in Natsu's life when he felt most anxious it would be this particular Saturday… or at least, he felt like that. His day started early, well… earlier than his Saturday's usually start considering that his day during weekends doesn't begin before noon. From the first moment after eyes opened, he felt oddly energetic and the mood practically radiated from him during the breakfast, yet another unusual thing for him. Pleasant as it is, Igneel couldn't fully understand what exactly caused these changes in his son but he didn't want to jinx it. There is one who knew exactly what was going on but whenever he would attempt to find out more, silver-haired woman would simply deny that she has any kind of knowledge on that subject which further sparked Igneel's curiosity and suspicion. Wendy was the obvious one and she kept prodding Natsu with teasing comments about his '_girlfriend_' which caused him to have rather comedic outbursts. In Natsu's opinion, she was too smart for her own good. This of course did please Igneel, even if it ended so absurdly during breakfast to the point of Natsu throwing piece of sausage at Wendy. Naturally, Igneel immediately protested and demanded for them to calm down but one side of him felt oddly content that they could share meals like this. Old man is everything, but he is not fool; all the comments and reactions couldn't escape his notice and soon even he noticed reason for sudden change in his son's behavior, his eagerness to actually spend time at home and his now frequent conversations with his step-mother. But among all this strange turn for the better, there was something that bugged him.

Natsu on the other hand had anxiety growing in him from the moment breakfast ended. He looked forward to tonight's party but at the same time he was worried because he didn't know how Lucy would react. In all honesty, looking back to his previous relationships, all his girlfriends, lovers and flings were all based on a fact that they are fun-loving girls. Going to any party was always best strategic move but this girl… Lucy… is uncharted territory. He would have to tread on topics as if he is walking on a mine field. Sure she agreed to come with him to this party but he had no idea if she would like it, if she would actually accept the invitation to relax. Other possibility is that she would end up as wall flower waiting somewhere on the side for time when she could go home and all his efforts would be for nothing. Careful approach seemed like most suitable option.

He suddenly snapped, mind returned back to reality as he realized that he is clearly overthinking entire situation and treating it as if he is playing chess. Fortunately, Saturday is also gym-day. Staying on first team of the Fairy Tail's football team meant that he always had to place priority on his physical condition, to keep improving his body and maintain his fitness. At very least he'll have something to keep him occupied until later afternoon. He took already prepared bag and headed toward it. Half of team was already there, no surprise, and Gray was already in full swing. That, however, was a surprise as he rarely ever saw Gray in gym. Either he goes during different hours or he is having some sort of demonic rituals in his dorm room as he never understood how he could maintain his fitness but never be at gym.

"Sup, popsicle!" Natsu approached his friend after changing and Gray responded with a nod. This bugged him for a long time now but he never asked and now seemed like decent time to do so "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as you don't ask me why bull jumps on cow." Gray responded with a grin as he was placing down dumbbells "That, you'll have to figure out on your own."

"Up yours, snowball." Natsu groaned at him "How come I never see you around here?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I never see you in gym, how the hell are you exercising?"

"Oh, that?" Gray took towel and wiped his forehead "I don't usually come to gym, I just exercise outside."

"Outside?" Natsu asked skeptically as he was stretching himself.

"I run by the riverbank. Fresh air, see few people here and there plus it's free."

"Alright that's running, what about strength exercise?" Natsu asked again.

"I got dumbbells at dorm, for rest I use my own body weight. Don't need to pay gym membership for that." Gray smiled as he sat down on a bench, taking few minutes to rest.

"So why are you here now?"

"Cause Juvia has study session with some of her colleagues and I can't do pushups at dorm room. She doesn't like me doing that in front of other college girls… says I am giving them wrong ideas. Had to pay for using gym, cheaper if you get full membership but I already have enough expenses."

"Can't believe you two got married…" Natsu responded. He finished with his warm up and went over to the treadmill.

"I am not married, Natsu." Gray protested as he watched pinkette run "I just like having stable relationship without worrying if my current girlfriend will find out about my other girlfriend. Some of us are content with having one girl at the time."

"Hey I'm not judging. I was actually meaning to ask how you manage do you keep… you know…"

"How do I manage to be with just one girl without ogling another girl's ass?" Gray asked with wide grin.

"Yea I mean… by now you probably had every position in the book, know her inside and out… literally. How do you keep things fresh?"

"Well I'll give you the most clichéd answer there is. Love. Contrary to your belief I barely even know Juvia as you think I do. She still manages to surprise me but things are fresh because once you love someone, you don't need another person. Even if it's just regular sex, it becomes special once you realize that person beside you is the one you can rely on, who supports your decision, who doesn't judge you, but instead, accepts you the way you are and loves everything that defines you. Less lust, more desire, Natsu… that's how I don't get the desire to stare at another cleavage."

Natsu didn't respond to Gray's explanation, instead he focused to keep his speed steadily increasing until he hit the sweet spot. Gray picked up his towel and walked over to him, standing in front of treadmill with questioning look in his eyes. "So you're still bringing Lucy to the party?"

"Yeah." Natsu responded, expecting yet another negative reaction.

"I think that's actually good."

"I sense disturbance in the force…" Natsu looked down at Gray "Not gonna tell me how that's a bad idea?"

"Nope." Gray quickly answered.

"Alright, what's the catch ice-butt?"

"Well it could be because I am a human being. One of the general traits we have is to actually care for others. Granted, my life is not centered on giving my 110% to make everyone else happy but considering what Lucy has on her plate, I really think she could benefit from this."

"That's not like you."

"What I am saying, fire-fart, is that Lucy is good girl and she really could use some R&amp;R in her life. That includes you too."

"Hold on." Natsu said and focused his attention toward Gray yet again "Was there a time when I didn't have fun at party?"

"That's what worries me. What's your game plan?"

"We go there, have few drinks, have some fun and go home. Laxus ain't gonna let us wreck the place and last time I argued with him, he straight up threw me out through the open window. Good thing it was ground floor."

"So you're fine with just few drinks and going home? Not gonna try and lure her behind some bush?" Gray asked and Natsu waved his head.

"Look…" Natsu said and turned off treadmill, even at this speed he didn't even managed to break a sweat. He was still breathing heavily but his forehead was as dry as Erza's jokes. "I am fine and not fine with the way things are. I do like Lucy and honestly I enjoy her company. Don't look at me like that, I know it's hard for you to believe I can be on friendly terms with girl but I do like to spend time with her without worrying if I need to bring up my A-game."

"I am sensing _but_" Gray quickly interjected, receiving a glare from Natsu.

"On the other hand I can't lie and say I'll be content with how things are for the rest of my life. Truth be told I do want to give it a shot with her and perhaps once things between us are a bit more relaxed I'll ask her out with all intentions placed on the table."

"Assuming she doesn't start dating someone in the meantime." Gray replied, making Natsu frown heavily at the words "But that's now what worries you, is it?"

Natsu waved his head. Gray had a bad tendency of reading him like a book, a trait he obtained through years of knowing Natsu all the way from childhood right up to this point. There was nothing that suggested he would lose this trait anytime soon.

"Let me take a guess… You are worried you will get bored fast. There is chemistry on your end but there is a chance it is all an illusion, infatuation due to her being unavailable to you."

"I am positive that she is not the kind of girl who is into flings or summer romances. Pretty sure she's gonna expect things to progress with boyfriend and… What if I suddenly want out?"

"Alright." Gray nodded, placing his towel over shoulder, arms folded and gaze fixed on Natsu "This is the only time I will openly say this to you so pay attention. You following?" Natsu nodded and Gray continued "You can't know. It's a risk. Bad one, not even a calculated risk. Until you and Lucy are a thing you can't know if what you have is the real thing or if it is just another flirt followed by one-night stand. It is gonna be a leap of faith but I know you enough to say this… If… no, WHEN you find the girl that manages to knock you out just by smiling at you, you will know that she's the good one, the right one. If Lucy is that girl, you'll find out, if she is not, you'll find out. Right now all you can do, all you should do is to make sure you are on the same page and hope. That's it, just… hope."

Natsu said nothing to this and Gray simply tapped him twice on shoulder before moving on to resume his exercise. It was deffinately something to think about and Natsu had another perspective to consider. Of course he valued their friendship but it was not a lie that he would be most comfortable with them slowly progressing toward something more than friendship. It wasn't a question if he wanted that _more_, problem lied in what would happen after. Hurting her suddenly became thing he wanted to avoid at all costs. Perhaps Gray is right.

Couple of hours and one shower later and he found himself on crossroad of important decision. Choice of his garments for this occasion was not easy. He wanted to make it less extravagant, something more on the relaxed tone, nothing fancy or radical. Laxus was known to throw good parties but they were never out of control. There was always good booze and light music with great crowd. Those were all people who were respectable with good reputation but with good sense of having to just relax every once in a while. Laxus never tolerated chaos or breaking stuff and no one dared to defy his word so he is sure to continue this trend. After several more minutes he decided that best choice of clothes would be to simply go with most comfortable option. Blue jeans and dark red shirt, buttoned up to the top along with sleeves. Simple and effective middle ground between formal and relaxed. Final touch was bit of hair oil and good deodorant with scent suited for occasion… transformation is now complete.

With overcrowded mind and clenched stomach he made his way over to Lucy's house, knowing that she will most likely wait for him as she did not know where Laxus is. His anxiety grew but so did his excitement as he knew that Lucy was bound to look great whatever she wears and at very least he'll have one good compliment to give. As he approached her house, his eyes spotted another female, although shorter, person approaching from another direction. Upon better inspection he recognized her and smile immediately appeared on his face. Levy.

"You look nice." Levy said as they both met just before the door "Honestly I expected you to come in full leather with spikes and yet you look so classy."

"Hey I am a professional-"

"Manwhore?" Levy quickly added as she giggled, making Natsu let a slight grunt followed by a chuckle. "Well as it happens, that just might work perfectly. Small note as you two go to party… Lucy has really low alcohol tolerance."

"Right, so she should avoid strong drinks?"

"Actually I was gonna suggest for you to spike her drinks. You're in for some interesting effects if she gets tipsy." Levy winked at him.

"Are you plotting something, again?" He asked in lower, teasing tone.

Levy smirked, to call her a schemer would be a compliment and he relished idea of being the mastermind "I meant what I said last time, Lucy could really use some venting and not worry about Michelle. Plus, I don't remember when was the last time she attended any party… You can imagine how hard it is to drag her to my birthday so… I am just enjoying fact that she might-"

Doors suddenly opened, interrupting Levy. They both looked toward the entrance of the house, spotting Lucy as she was just walking out. For a split second, Natsu expected her to look at least close to how she does during hours in Sabertooth and his heart slowed down in those short few seconds until his eyes fully focused on blond colleague of his. Tension disappeared and instead a slight disappointment filled his entire being. Lucy wore white, thin pullover with wide collar that uncovered her right shoulder and sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. His eyes then fell down and instead of miniskirt, there were black jeans, tight but managed to completely cover her legs and where white leather boots teased the imagination, now were sneakers. To add to this unique look, her hair was tied into ponytail with only few strands of hair falling over side of her face. This Lucy was nothing like the one from Sabertooth or one from his dream…

"Wow…" he said "You look…"

"Awful, grotesque, horrid, atrocious." Levy quickly added with voice that matched her words "You're not thinking of going out like that are you?"

"What is wrong with my clothes?" Lucy asked, genuinely confused as she inspected her own clothes.

"I think you look nice." Natsu added. Of course he had thoughts similar to Levy's but at this point he dared not to speak openly his opinion.

"What he is trying to say is that your legs are covered and no cleavage can be found." Levy growled as she approached Lucy.

"I am not going to a party dressed like a slut!"

"Trust me, I've been to college parties, only way you can be sluttier than rest is if you walk in with nothing but stickers on your boobs."

"Not a word!" Lucy quickly growled at Natsu who attempted to say something. She knew that he was going to suggest just that and it's better to prevent any possibility of idea sticking to his head.

"Get inside!" Levy ordered, turning Lucy and pushing her in with Natsu following "We'll be right back." She said over her shoulder as pair walked upstairs, leaving pinkette to wait downstairs. As soon as they closed doors of her bedroom, Levy immediately opened closet and started throwing her stuff on her bed. Lucy was left with nothing else to do but to let her friend to create a pile of clothes on it. Small bluenette then turned and started looking through the clothes, face showing obvious dissatisfaction.

"Where are your sexy clothes?"

"My what?" Lucy asked, pretending she didn't hear the question.

"Sexy clothes." Levy repeated slowly "You used to have them, Where are your cute shirts, miniskirts? You even had a leather choker."

"I outgrew those clothes!" Lucy practically shouted, blushing heavily as Levy listed "Unless you forgot, I don't exactly have a reason or money to buy them."

"I regret not going with you when you were shopping for clothes." Levy sighed as she desperately tried to find something suitable for occasion. Her attempts were met with failure as Lucy's clothes mostly consisted of either plain shirts or wide ones, almost baggy and in her opinion those simply wouldn't work. "What about your Sabertooth uniform?""

"I can't show up in that! They'll think I'm being… sponsored by club." Lucy's voice grew thinner and thinner with each word, hands covered her face to hide embarrassment.

"Works for racers. Lucy's-impossible-to-believe-they-are-this-big boobs, provided by Sabertooth!" Levy giggled, making Lucy cover her face with both hands to hide blush. As much as she wanted to continue teasing her, she had a point… showing up like that indeed wouldn't be good. Far from the fact Lucy had bad taste in clothes but none of those were matching Levy's imagination of what she should look like for first party in years. She placed hand over her mouth, pondering heavily on what possible combination she could come up with what she had in front of her. Her eyes suddenly looked toward mirror and in it she saw herself, wearing dark purple shirt, one size larger than what she usually wears with letters "Hot" at center with couple of hearts around. Idea suddenly popped into her mind as she turned her gaze back at Lucy, eyeing her current clothes that she wore.

"Take off that pullover." Levy ordered and Lucy complied. "And bra." She added.

"No." Lucy protested.

"You have smaller one?" Levy asked and Lucy waved head hesitantly "Then take it off." She repeated and with great reluctance Lucy complied. For few seconds, Levy observed her topless friend and she took off her shirt, handing it to Lucy. "Take this."

"I can't wear your shirt." Lucy protested but Levy didn't want to hear her complaints.

"Will you just listen for once without commenting?"

Lucy had no other choice. She took the shirt and with some difficulty managed to put it on. Despite the fact it had certain ability to stretch, it immediately stuck to her as if it is her second skin, covering her torso right down to her navel but showing every curve she had.

Levy's expression went from enthusiastic to neutral and then to frowning in manner of seconds "Well that is… depressing." Levy said with low tone as she looked at Lucy.

"I told you it won't fit…"

"No, I bought it because it is my size and it looks better on you than it looks on me." Levy added with disappointment in her voice "What the hell did you do to get these?" She asked, placing both hands on Lucy's breasts, making blonde twitch a bit as her friend squeeze her few times.

"I didn't do anything, they are… like that." Lucy said, not knowing what answer to give.

"Well that solves us one problem… Wait here." She said and walked outside of the room, making way downstairs toward the kitchen.

"How's it going upst…a…" Natsu attempted to ask but stuttered as he watched bluenette walk past him in jeans and bra.

"What? You never saw boobs?" She asked as she casually passed by, without a single care that she was exposing herself to Natsu.

"Not yours." He quickly responded with a grin but Levy said nothing, instead she was going through drawers. She seemed preoccupied with finding a certain object and upon finding it she made her way back, leaving Natsu only a moment glance at mysterious object that she was carrying. Scissors.

"If I cannot find you sexier clothes, I'll make some." Levy said as she went over Lucy's clothes but instead of aimlessly picking through them, now she knew exactly what she needed. First she separated all jeans Lucy had and started reading labels, inspecting size of each. Much to her disappointment but in this case also fortune, they differed in sizes giving Levy all the needed information to make a simple conclusion: Lucy's shopping was done once per year.

"Make up, light, mascara and pink lipstick." Levy instructed. She picked smallest of the jeans that Lucy had at her disposal and started making uneven cuts all over the legs. Not big enough to cause chain tearing but enough to at least uncover some of the skin. Blonde of course protested but Levy hissed at her the moment she came close, ordering her to continue with make-up.

"Take off those church pants." Levy said with slight hint of disgust and handed her one she was working on. With yet another rush of reluctance, Lucy obeyed and took off black jeans and replaced them with freshly cut one.

"It's a little tight…" Lucy commented as she was zipped them, her eyes practically radiating embarrassment.

"It is supposed to be like that." Levy commented and took one of Lucy's shirts, putting it on and realizing just how big it is on her. Not so much on shoulders as much around chest area, stretched by her… assets. "And don't you dare put those shoes on… I know you have those pink sandals, pull them out of the vault."

Natsu had a little less fun time waiting. It has been good ten minutes since they went upstairs and aside from incomprehensible sounds there was nothing he could understand. He was nervous, the tight feeling in his stomach was akin to one he felt on his very first date and in a sense this would be one… at very least in his own head. They would spend some quality time, relaxed atmosphere and just as things start to be wild, they would leave and avoid the coming disaster that is… drunk Erza. Even the thought of that scene made him shivers. His head turned as he hear doors being opened upstairs and eyes gazed at stairs and two college girls walking down. One had several sizes bigger shirt that hanged well over her waist with sleeves rolled up and other one… That one created a very vivid flash before eyes, one that his own dream conjured. Resemblance was astonishing; the only thing Lucy lacked right now was that piercing gaze that screamed desire and lust.

"So how do we look? Better?" Levy asked with wide grin as she glanced over to Lucy who still hasn't lost her blush on cheeks but hoped that it might be misunderstood with actual make-up.

"Much better." Natsu agreed, letting out a silent whistle as he eyed Lucy up and down. "Shall we get going?"

"Wait!" Levy ordered in loud tone, making both of them freeze in place. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Lucy and that very gaze sent cold feeling down her spine. Without a doubt she had something in mind. She approached blonde and pulled collar of the shirt… scissors moved swiftly and she created a deep cut, starting from the edge and straight down, opening a cleavage that showed quite enough for all kinds of imaginations to work. Lucy quickly squealed, covering her bosoms as best as she could while her 'date' seemed to only be further motivated by the sight.

"There, all fixed." Levy exclaimed vigorously.

"It's like she's doing what I'm thinking…" Natsu added amazed at what he saw "Quick I have another thought!"

"Sorry pinky can't do that, she doesn't wear panties." Levy winked at Natsu whose grin suddenly became wide.

"Levy!" Lucy protested, shooting angry glare at her friend.

Petite bluenette showed no signs of fright, instead, she walked over to front doors and opened them "It had to be done. Now off you go."

"You look really good, you know." Natsu said, breaking long silence as they strolled along the sidewalk. His eyes kept falling on the previously mentioned delight of a cleavage. He couldn't but shake the feeling that something was missing and his own delight only managed to grow more as he realized that it was a particular piece of clothing that was missing. In the end, he is last person to miss such details.

"This is embarrassing." Lucy said in lower tone, her cheeks still burned and only street lights could reveal the red texture that was still present.

"No it's not. Look, believe me or not but compared to some girls, you are more than decent. Summer parties are way more wild, within first two hours half of them are gonna be topless. Trust me, you look hot. Not the… slutty kind of hot but ummm…" he took pause, trying to find good words to express the compliment "Mature kind of hot, you know… the… serious girl with cool attitude… kind of hot. Does that make any sense?"

Lucy let a small giggle and turned head to look at him "It does. Thank you."

Their walk from that point on became less tense. Chatter and laugh replaced the silence and Lucy no longer felt the need to protect herself. For one moment, as short as it is, she felt relieved, relaxed… as if she could lower her defense and the rock wall around her. It was hard to see him as obnoxious, self-centered cretin that he initially managed to so accurately portray. Perhaps he still is that but she saw the other Natsu, one who is still self-centered cretin, but kind one. One who maybe, just maybe, wouldn't hurt her in place she was most tender.

It didn't take too long for them to reach Laxus's house, although perhaps it was due to the fact she enjoyed the talk enough to lose track of time. They were here, two stories house with large yard. Low light of the evening obscured much of the details but most prominent ones were impossible to miss. All lights turned on, cars parked on sidewalk and music coming from the inside. Now is good time for her to be nervous. Sheep walking in a room full of wolves in disguise but fortunately, Natsu's hand on her back gave her small level of courage to walk with him. His knocking was loud and strong and soon tall, blonde man appeared as doors opened, wearing black pants and matching shirt.

"I had a feeling it's the lil punk." Laxus said with grin on face. They both chuckled and shook hands, followed by what could Lucy only describe as _bear hug_.

"Laxus!" Natsu said as they finally separated "Finally decided to visit us?"

"Yea I had some business in town so figured I could gather few people from here and there. Come in." He instructed and closed doors behind them. Lucy could now hear numerous voices; entire crowd of people coming from every room and moving into another and in the background, music was playing loud. "And who is your friend?"

"Oh right, this is Lucy" Natsu said as he looked toward her and two of them shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Lucy. Are you two…?"

"Just friends." Pinkette quickly interjected, making Laxus raise eyebrow at this unusual explanation.

"Well that's new for you. Hold on a second." Laxus turned his head to look toward dining room and frowned, shouting loud "Oy, Fullbuster! Shirt on!" his head now turned back to pair, speaking in usual, calmer tone "Drink's in the kitchen, you know where it is. No breaking stuff and no humping in bedrooms, got it?"

"What does he mean by 'humping'?" Lucy asked as two of them moved away.

"Oh that… yea, see last year I may have brought a girl and we sort of ended up having sex in his bedroom. In my defense, he wouldn't have caught us if she wasn't loud."

"How delightful…" She rolled eyes at his explanation "It's a lot… calmer here. I imagined it would be louder with more people drinking out of a barrel."

"Yea that's Laxus for you, preferring quality time that you'll remember rather than senseless bacchanalia that you'll forget. Reason why he's legendary is because you never know what he'll do. Once he took entire group of 20 to Bosco for a rock concert and every club we could find along the way back. Other time, he rented a yacht for weekend and we ended up having party at open sea. That was wild! No one dares to get pissed drunk, whatever he does, it's best you remember it. Come, let me introduce you to some good people."

With some reluctance and feeling of her stomach tightening, Lucy walked with Natsu to what she could describe as living room. At least furniture matched the purpose. It was populated by no less than twenty people, locked in conversation among each other and very presence of Natsu alerted all of them. All of a sudden Lucy felt as if she was the very center of universe, with everyone looking toward her as Natsu was introducing people to her and her to them. It wasn't so bad; they seemed nice, sneaking glances down on her recently created cut on shirt but at least they didn't drool. One, however, tried to place hand on her shoulder but Natsu was first to react, smacking the same hand. It didn't take much for them to realize that he was protective of her, despite the fact he introduced her as his friend.

Entire atmosphere was pleasant, people moved on with their conversations, focus changed from one person to another and anxiety that existed in Lucy, vanished over time. She enjoyed it. Comedic stories from people she just met, crazy dares to show unusual talents and even the horrible singing that came after third bottle of beer.

"Lucy!" Voice came from behind her and she turned, spotting the girl in scarlet hair with clothes not too different than ones she had on. Only difference is in color of shirt and no cuts on jeans.

"Oh, hello Erza." Lucy replied, smiling as she approached.

"I see you still decided to come. That is good." Erza replied, giving her best effort to appear content. She was but she wasn't all that good in showing it.

"Yea." Gray added as he appeared right beside Lucy. "Hope fart-for-breath haven't had chance to screw things up. And speaking of, I'll take that." He said and took glass from Erza's hands, giving her another one. She moved edge of glass close to her nose and gave a few short sniffs.

"This is apple juice…" Erza said, shooting cold glare at Gray.

"I know, but, for the sake of our dignity and to possibly avoid torture and humiliation… let's keep it safe okay?"

"Graaay…" Scarlet woman said in lower tone, elongating his name which made him swallow hard.

"Remember, keep it sober… now if you'll excuse me, I have to find coal-brain." He concluded and quickly moved away. Two steps away and he allowed himself to take a long sigh of relief. For a second he thought he was going to die, after all, poking Erza is never fun and Ministry of Health strongly recommended avoiding provoking her… for safety reasons.

Lucy on the other hand couldn't help but smile, finding entire situation too comedic. Natsu was out of sight, Gray ran as quickly as he could and Erza followed example, moving toward back of the room, grumbling heavily. She suddenly felt small tap on her shoulder and familiar voice.

"Hello Lucy!" girl said, smiling wide as Lucy turned.

"Oh hey…" blonde responded, feeling a bit nervous.

"Fancy meeting you here, mind if I talk to you?"

"Yeah… sure."

* * *

"So, are you gonna tell us what's the big plan for tonight?" Natsu asked, already feeling ecstatic.

"Nothing." Laxus answered "Tonight is gonna be just this, no crazy stuff."

"Whaat? Come on, don't be a combo-breaker!" Pinkette protested.

"Wait till he tells you reason for that." Gray said after a big sip of beer straight from the bottle "He got engaged."

"No way! Laxus engaged? How the hell did that happen?"

"Hey, we all gotta settle down sometime." Laxus responded, frowning slightly "This lifestyle drains too much out of me. Plus, with shit ton of things being planned and between that and job, I barely have time to do anything else."

"Well fuck me… So who's the girl you tamed?"

"What makes you think he tamed her?" Gray said with grin.

"As if you have the room to talk." Blonde shot down glare at Gray "I heard you're close to getting married yourself."

"Hey you chose yours, I'm stuck with mine." Gray retorted.

"Yea yea yea but who is the chick?" Natsu asked "Anyone we know?"

"Oh you know her." Gray said, moving both hands up with only index fingers extended, imitating horns on his head.

"No fucking way!" Pinkette exclaimed. His eyes widened from shock and lips curved into smile, showing row of teeth as he chuckled "You got engaged to Mira? Miss Mirajane from college? How did that happen?"

"Come on, Natsu, we practically grew up together, her and I." Laxus said in cold voice.

"Yea but I didn't expe-" Natsu began but stopped in middle of sentence as he saw Lucy walk past him and out through the front door. He was confused at her by what he saw but he followed, leaving Gray and Laxus to watch in confusion.

"Luce?" Natsu asked as he tried to catch up with her fast pace. "Hey, Luce?"

She didn't answer. He called her once more and ran up to her, grabbing her hand.

"Let me go!" She yelled with shaking voice as she pulling her arm out of his grasp and turning to face him. His heart slowed down as he looked at her, breathing fast with bits of mascara smeared on her cheeks.

"What happened?"

"You should know that best, Natsu. When did you plan on telling me?"

"Tell you what? Luce, what is going on?"

"When did you plan on telling me real reason why you were always around me? And don't you dare telling me that it was because you wanted to be friend. For once be honest."

His feet felt as cold as ice. Notion that she perhaps somehow learned about the bet terrified him to the bones. He was silent, lips parted but no words came out and every second of her glare was more terrifying than every one of Erza's growls.

"How much was I really worth? Hm?"

"Is that really important now?"

"One drink?" Lucy asked and Natsu hesitated to answer. Seconds felt like hours, spent in praying that ground underneath would open and just swallow him. His silence was all the answers she needed.

"Wow…" She continued, voice shaking even more "I am actually worth one drink. Was it even strong one or was it just one beer?"

"Hold on I didn't say that!"

"Don't lie!" She shouted and moved closer to him. It was only now that he saw her eyes clearly… eyes filled with tears "You made a bet to lure me into bed and if you fail you had to buy one round. Was that the deal?"

"Yes…" he uttered in low tone

"And since you failed, you invited me here get me drunk, lure me into bed and leave in the morning and forget everything in the next two days."

"Hold on, this has nothing to do with that!"

"And why should I believe you?" She asked, struggling with every word to keep her composure. Even he could see that she was on verge of crying. "What possible reason do I have to trust you?"

"Because that bet was made long time ago."

"It hasn't been even full month since we met." Lucy interrupted him. Slowly, she turned and took few steps away, hands moving up to wipe her cheeks. She took long deep breath, trying to calm herself but truth is she was in pure mental torment.

"Look… why does it even matter now?" He asked and now he struggled with his words. Voice was thinner, weaker… he was genuinely afraid.

"Because you made a promise to me. Promise that you broke."

"This was before that! I promised I wouldn't do anything to hurt you but this happened before that promise and…

"And?" She asked as he made a pause, still refusing to look at him. He wanted to say it so badly, that he started to like her, that he made so many steps in changing himself just so he can be closer to her. He wanted to say that if he could change the time he would do everything differently. He wanted to say… but he didn't.

"It may not be important to you, Natsu… but it is important to me. For a minute I genuinely thought that you wanted to be my friend. But I guess I was right about you all along." She bowed her head forward and let a silent sound. He couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying but it definitely sounded like both. "You know, Natsu, I actually started to like you. I thought that… you might be someone I can be comfortable around."

"Look, Luce…"

"Let's just forget everything happened alright? Just pretend we never met." She concluded and started walking, leaving Natsu to just stand there on sidewalk, paralyzed, left to contemplate what just happened. Hands moved through his hair, down his neck and to his face, rubbing cheeks and eyes hard. His heart was beating so fast he felt it on the very skin of his chest. It was fear, pure fear that he felt as she was slowly disappearing from his sight. He couldn't comprehend everything that happened, he never imagined that this would come to bite him, but it did… and he knew that what he did was bad. This moment, this situation… it was stuff of nightmares.

"Hey, what's taking you so long?" Gray's voice came from behind.

"Yeah it's…" he turned head to look toward Gray, eyes wandered up and down at his now completely naked friend. "Where the hell are your clothes?"

"Erza's drunk…" Gray said in low tone as he sighed and looked around, not one bit bothered he was standing in his birthday suit where everyone could see him "Where's Lucy? What happened?"

"I… umm…" Natsu started, taking long pause before continuing "I fucked up, Gray…"


	22. Choices we make

**A/N: Wow... was it really that long since last update? Okay, I need to throw in believable excuse as to why I was waiting and... mhm... yeah... I got nothing. Actually I wanted to try out different genre and allow myself to not be stuck in a rot because at this point I really involved myself into this story and last thing I want is to get bored of it. That is main reason why I write multiple stories at once, so I can get fresh ideas. Anyway, the writer will not shut up and let you read the story. As always, let me know what you think.**

* * *

Wednesday. If one thing is as certain as gravity is the most famous quote that says 'time flies when you are having fun'. On the same note, exact opposite can be applied and translated into 'time stops when your guts are in your throat.' Not literally, but Natsu didn't seem to know the difference at this point. For past two days he came to college with both hope and fear that Lucy would come if only so he could once more apologize or explain. Every time he took the phone in his hands there would be no calls and roughly 20 messages… but none were from her. He wanted to text her, he wanted to call her but as soon as he was about to press finger on his phone and call… he moved it aside and put the phone away. Two days felt like two weeks. Today is third one and classes were passing one by one, all spent in same mood, same stance and same train of thoughts. His world was slowly showing signs of cracking on walls and foundations and it was a feeling that he felt only once before. He didn't like it back then either.

"Snap out of it!" voice reached his ears and he obeyed the command, snapping out of his thoughts "What is wrong with you these days?"

"Didn't sleep much." Natsu answered lazily. He wasn't lying, his sleep was short and what dreams came to him were all centered on reliving that Sunday evening. "What do we have next?"

"Nothing." Gray said as he stood up from chair, walking outside of the amphitheater, followed closely by his pink friend "We got half hour till practice and I do not look forward to it."

"Why not?" Natsu asked, furrowing his brows as he waited for reply.

"Coach Strauss is in bad mood, probably had a fight with his wife…" Gray answered with cringe in his voice. His face disfigured slightly in obvious dissatisfaction and small dose of fear "And now he's gonna make our lives living hell. Still thinking about Lucy?"

"Yeah…"

"I don't know what to tell you." Gray sighed deeply; his hand reached up and rubbed his own face, moving up and through his hair as he looked around. "I honestly did not expect it would go that way, I thought you'd screw up as you go, not from the start."

"Really, Gray?" Pinkette looked at him, crossing arms "How about you have a little bit of faith in me and throw in some good idea?"

"I do have faith in you and trust me I will benefit from pulling you out of this shit…"

"How will you benefit from this?" Natsu asked, raising his voice.

"Because if word spreads of this guess who is gonna rip my balls off and serve it as cocktail olives…" Gray sighed yet again, his hand now moving faster through hair, ruffling it almost furiously. "Have you even talked to Lucy in the meantime?"

"No, I haven't seen her since Sunday. She probably won't be coming for the rest of the week." Natsu said, leaning against the wall, watching as students from other classrooms moved along.

"What makes you say that?" Gray asked curiously.

"Well if Lucy is anything like every other girl she's probably locked up in her room. That's how girls usually end up after a breakup…"

"Well, you have been wrong before." Gray added and nodded to his side. Natsu turned to look at direction where he is nodding and there he spotted Lucy leaving classroom. "Doesn't look like she is too bummed about what happened. Hey where are you going? Hey? Dammit!"

Before Gray even had the time to call for him again, Natsu was already halfway to her, moving with quick pace in order to catch up with her. She was walking alone, not paying much attention to things around her. He called for her again but she didn't reply, leaving him with more than enough reason to believe that she indeed intended to stick to her words and just forget about everything.

"Hey." He finally caught up with her, standing in front. She stopped looking up at him "Can we talk?"

"I don't really see the point of it." Lucy replied, voice monotone and cold.

"At least… let me explain, please." He pleaded.

"Alright, explain." Her voice was still calm, composed. Natsu, on the other hand, was surprised… he expected her to try and walk past him, walk in other direction, to deny him chance to say anything or at least to hit him. Instead, she held her bag in hands, looking up at him with blank expression, waiting for him to _explain_. He didn't planned things this far or that she would allow him to speak.

"I know things were rough on you for the past couple of days and-"

"Rough? What makes you think I had rough time?" She asked, lifting her eyebrow as she observed pinkette with genuine confusion.

"Ummm… well you didn't attend the classes, so I figured…"

"So you figured that because of you I would cry in some corner, refusing to come out. Am I right?" Lucy asked but he was silent, mouth slightly gapped open. Yes is correct, but he didn't want to say it out loud. "It is, and I cannot believe I'll use this word, cute… that you think my world revolves around your actions. Michelle had a fever and I couldn't leave her alone."

"Yea, okay, let's go with that." He nodded at her.

"You don't believe me?" She asked, moving her arms and now holding her bag with just left hand, right one hanging by her body.

"No no, I believe you, just…" He started but he didn't finish his sentence. In truth, he didn't really believe her as his experience provided him with ample opportunities to hear all kinds of excuses. What stopped his sentence weren't his own thoughts or intention; it was the pain on his left cheek that was left after a quick and loud slap.

"Don't you DARE think that I would toy with something important like my sister's health!" She growled at him, hand rose with finger extended, right in front of his face. "Her health is more important to me than school, classes, everything else including your own excuses!"

"You're right, I'm sorry…" He apologized, gaze turned away from her as he felt that old feeling he almost forgot about. Guilt.

"Then, let's hear what you had to explain so we can end all this and I can continue with my life."

He made long pause. Pain still radiated on his skin, feeling as if blood was simply aching to escape, burst out like volcano. That one slap felt more painful than anything he ever felt before, any beating he got from Gray, from teammates, from all the fights he had from elementary school right up to this point.

"I didn't know it would be like this… Yes… I… made the bet to see if I can… make you have sex with me within a week…"

"It was longer than just one week." Lucy interjected, glaring up at him "Even after that week, you still had same plan, didn't you?"

Natsu was caught, feeling urge to lie, to say anything else but the truth. Instead, he nodded "Yes." At this point he expected another slap across the cheek. He prepared himself for the sting of her palm but it never came. "I know you are mad at me."

"Natsu, I am not mad at you." Lucy said, making him widen his eyes. Her voice was softer than it was before, less threatening "I am mad at myself for allowing you to get closer to me. I knew exactly who you are from the moment you sat next to me. Even then I knew you are egotistical, shallow jerk who always aims for one thing. I am mad because I knew all that but I led myself to believe that… all those stories about you are just stories and that I should at least give you a chance to pretend you are someone different."

"I am just asking you to give me a chance."

"A chance for what?" Lucy asked.

"To prove that I even if I am the one from those stories, I can be someone else." Natsu answered, feeling that his throat has a fist-sized stone in it.

"And what do you think that would prove? That I was wrong and that I should just let it go? You still don't get it do you?" She smiled, not out of happiness but out of pure anguish that was reigning inside of her head "If you were in my place… just… put yourself in my shoes and tell me this. Would you forgive someone like you? Someone who, from the very start, only wanted to have sex with you and leave in the morning. Maybe not one day, but surely no longer than it entertains him. Pull out some excuse like "I don't think it will work out between us" or "We should just stay friends". What is worse is that the same person didn't even want to be with you for the sake of shallow desire or need… but for the sake of the bet." She made pause, calming herself, collecting her thoughts. Natsu was silent, eyes fixed to the side, staring at the point on the ground… daring not to look into her eyes. "And what was my price? A drink. Would you forgive yourself for allowing such person to come close to you?"

Natsu's silence continued, still refusing to utter a single word. Of course he wouldn't forgive someone like that, of course he wouldn't even make half-effort to care about person who would abuse his trust and all good intentions only for the sake of one night. Ironic, isn't it? Of course it is, everything he hated right this moment is everything that described him. Lucy slowly shook her head as he watched him stand in silence.

"I honestly… honestly… am completely overwhelmed by my own, entire life and everything that is thrown at me. Do you know just how often I just sit at home and wonder where my life is heading? How often I tell myself that I have to be strong, that I have no room to crack and how often I prove to myself that I am not? Forget everything that Levy tells you, I am not nearly as strong as she says I am. You cannot imagine what I went through and you cannot begin to feel what I felt. You wouldn't believe just how rarely someone… compliments me. For anything. And I really need that sometimes, to pat me on the back and make feel at ease for just five seconds. That's all I need, five seconds per day."

Lucy looked at other students that passed by, minding their own business, chatting jesting and laughing about their own little anecdotes in lives. "I have few friends, enough so I can count them on fingers of one hand. If it wasn't for them I don't know how I would survive. I am desperately trying to achieve everything I can but… Here is something only you will hear. No one knows this." Lucy stopped, waiting for him to finally look at her. He could see she was struggling but she kept it strong, as if she is that rock that defies the tooth of time itself. Defiant, tenacious… but shaking. "If it wasn't for Michelle, if it wasn't for that one glimmer of hope that I can provide her better life than I have… I don't think I'd want to continue living."

"So please, Natsu… I am begging you as if you are my very guardian angel… Please, stop it." Lucy added, swallowing hard as she kept looking at him "Just let me be. I am not the girl you want and you are definitely not the guy I need. Just forget about all that happened and move on with your life. Let me live mine as best as I can. If you need this I will say it, I forgive you for what you have done and you don't have to help me anymore."

Her eyes looked away, taking few seconds to collect her own thoughts. After one long sigh, she placed her backpack over her shoulder moved past Natsu, leaving him to just stand there, stare at unknown point in the distance that was until moments ago obscured by her eyes. That crack in his world now suddenly began to expand.

"Hey man, how did it go?" Gray asked as he moved closer, making Natsu snap out of his thoughts yet again.

"I honestly don't know anymore." Natsu said in lower tone.

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this but, maybe you should really let it go. You'll bounce back in a week or two like you always do and then you'll move on. Not every girl is gonna fall for you so… just pick up your pieces and move on. We got games to play and do you really want yourself in the gutter?"

"No." Pinkette said, looking at Gray. His voice was strong and defiant "I am going to fix this."

"Oh come on…" Gray moaned "Please just let it go."

"No." Natsu defied yet again. He took two steps away from him, hand rubbing his eyes then moved down to his lips and chin. With swift move, he turned to face Gray "I fucked up. I did stupid thing without realizing it'll bite me in the ass… but I will fix this. Even if it takes me-"

"Even if it takes you what? Weeks, months, years?" Gray questioned in loud voice. "I am supporting you, don't think I am going against you but just for minute think clearly."

"I am thinking clearly, Gray." Natsu said, taking deep breath, looking around. "I can't just give up now."

Gray let out a groan, burring face in his palms. His groan increased, became louder and akin to a wild dog "Juvia is so gonna visit me with a knife one morning… Natsu, if I can't have kids I am gonna blame you."

"You'll live." Natsu commented. His brows furrowed all of a sudden "Wait, how did she found out?"

"About the bet?" Gray asked, pulling his now flushed face out of his palms.

"Yeah. I mean… it's not like I spilled it out… You think it was Loke?"

"Nah, I spoke with Loke yesterday over the phone. He said he told nobody about it."

"And you believe him?"

"Yes, I do." Gray answered "I know him for long time Natsu, he can be an asshole sometimes… not as big as you but he is not a douche."

"Ok… ok ok… so, if he didn't tell anyone and… I didn't tell anyone… Who did it?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that we're gonna regret the day we were born if we are late for practice."

"Trouble in paradise?" Female voice was heard and Natsu turned around. He knew that voice.

"Jenny… yea, not best moment."

"I know." She said rather calmly "I heard pretty much all of it. For the note, you deserved much worse."

"Wait, how do-" Natsu frowned again, hand raised up slightly. His mind slowly began to place all pieces of the puzzle. She couldn't be the one to tell Lucy about it but shadow of doubt persisted. "Are you..."

"Am I the one who told her about the bet? Yes." Jennifer said, again keeping her calmness. Natsu on the other hand was everything but calm; he grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her against the wall, hard. Anger took over, his pupils grew thin and lips curved, revealing line of teeth.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" He growled at her, squeezing her shoulders hard. It would've been a lot harder but Gray quickly grabbed and pulled him away from her.

"Hey, knock it off!" Gray yelled at Natsu as he held him in a lock.

"It was her!"

"Yes, it's me. You wanna know why? It's because you came after me!" She yelled at him, calmness disappeared and was replaced by almost same anger he now felt "Ever since freshman year it was always you who chased me. I didn't want to date you but you kept going after me again and again even after you had your ways with other girls. Don't look at me like that, university is not that big of a place, people gossip. Heck, even when I had boyfriend you still tried to screw me. And finally couple of weeks ago, I decided to give you that chance you wanted so much. You remember all the things you promised me?"

Natsu was still glaring at her, held tight by Gray, feeling as if he is dog on a leash. His breathing became fast, loud as air went in and out of his nostrils.

"The best night I will ever have, one where I'll see stars. More than that, you promised me that I am, and I cannot believe I fell for this, different, special. So yeah, I thought I would give you the chance since you didn't intended to back down… and then what happened? I said yes and you decided you want another girl and gave me world's biggest cliché of a breakup. Do you remember that? Let me refresh your memory." She paused for a moment and then began talking again, imitating Natsu's voice as much as possible "Hey, um, look, I don't think things will work out between us so, think it is best we split up."

Natsu finally calmed down, his attempts to break out of Gray's hold subsided as he listened to her.

"For years you kept promising me towers and castles, all so you could lure me into your bed and when I finally give myself to you, mind and body… you just couldn't even muster one minute of honesty to tell me why you are breaking up with me. And what's worse than that?" She laughed "You broke up with me outside of the university, where everyone could see it and like it is nothing."

"Is this all because of that? Revenge?" Natsu asked her.

"Yes. You broke my heart, now you get just a little bit of that back at you. Now we are done."

"For fuck's sake…" Natsu muttered, rubbing his eyes. He was no longer held tightly by his friend, but for just to be safe, Gray still kept his hand on Natsu's shoulder. He knew well how impulsive Natsu can be, how quickly and fiery he reacts.

"Oh and Natsu." Jennifer said as she turned, facing him and Gray "Next time you are making a bet with someone, make sure you are not in the hallway where everyone can hear you."

"Okay… so you were busted from day one. Someone heard you and told her about it… then she told all that to Lucy." Gray said as he released Natsu "Well I won't lie… that was a dick move." Gray added as he watched her walk away.

"No, she is right."

"I wasn't talking about her."

* * *

To say that practice was hell was an understatement. Just as Gray foreseen hell in making, so it happened. Elfman was in bad really mood. His reason was very much along with Gray's prediction… an argue with Evergreen that led to him sleeping on uncomfortable couch and with his size taken into account it all led to a painful stiffness in his neck and shoulders. He needed a vent, he needed someone to be his scape-goat and receive all of his current frustration. Fortunately for him, list of such was long. It was all masked with _this is for your own good_ excuse. Gray managed to stay below coach's radar and proved that his nickname is well earned. Clean, precise execution of all calls earned him "Not bad Fullbuster, but you can do better than that!" It may not sound like much of a compliment, but in this situation it meant he won't have to repeat same drill ten more times.

Natsu on the other hand was less lucky. His mind constantly drifted to everything that occurred today. First Lucy, then Jennifer and in those moments of weak focus he made all the mistakes he could. That day, he was Elfman's punch bag. Well… figuratively. The image of flawless Natsu, the peerless prodigy seemed more like a myth that reality. This one was sloppy, slow, easy to tackle, easy to trick and all that just further fueled Elfman with reasons to yell at him. Unprofessional? It was, but no one doubted in Elfman's results and everyone knew his methods. Yelling is just something everyone had to endure. Pinkette just couldn't muster a single care about his failed drills and sloppy catches. The cracks became even wider.

Fortunately for them, there is only so much coach can do and after last whistle, everyone had to hit the showers and prepare for another day and another practice. Perhaps he will be in better mood. Loud moans were heard, words of curses and spite as they showed their newly earned "war trophies" in forms of bruises. Natsu was no different, he earned quite a few of such after several hard tackles, but unlike everyone else, he didn't say a word. He finished and headed home.

"Hey." He said as he closed main doors of his house, greeting everyone inside. Only Igneel was in the living room, sitting in his armchair, reading papers.

"And good afternoon to you as well." Igneel commented, lowering his papers to look at his son. "Did anything of interest happen today?"

_Yea, everything went wrong._

"Nope." Natsu answered.

"Mhm. Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Yea, sure." Natsu said, feeling a bit anxious. It wasn't common for Igneel to initiate conversation with him in this way. Usually it was because he screwed something up. He sat on the couch, leaning forward with elbows placed on his knees, looking toward his father who folded newspapers and adjusted his glasses.

"How close are you with that colleague of yours, Lucy?"

"I don't know… I guess we were good." Natsu answered half-heartedly.

"Were?" Igneel asked.

"Yeah, some things happened."

"I see." Igneel added, letting out a soft hum "And you trust her, I presume?"

"I guess I do. Umm… why you are asking me this?"

"Well to be perfectly honest you do not exactly introduce us to anyone of your… mmm girlfriends."

"Yeah ummm… see…" Natsu found himself in awkward position. He was absolutely certain Igneel is aware of his _interest_ in girls but it was still not comfortable to speak about it with his own father.

"I do have to say that young Lucy does seem like well-educated and polite person, not to mention you having to go extra mile to help her in ways that I usually have to force you to do around here."

"Yeah, about that, I promise I'll help around the house-"

"I am sure you will but this is not about your chores." Igneel continued, cutting Natsu in mid-sentence. Pinkette didn't like when this occurred but he knew better than to complain. "I am more interested now in how much you trust this girl and how much she is open to you."

"Dad…" Natsu started and stood up from couch, preparing himself to leave "I honestly don't know anymore. Some… stuff happened and I don't know if I can fix everything. You don't have to worry about her."

"I did a bit of a research." Igneel said, making Natsu stop just as he was about to reach the stairs "Her last name did strike me as familiar one and I had to check."

"Heartfilia?"

"Indeed. See, that is not common last name. In fact there are only three Heartfilia families and two of them live in Bosco."

"Alright, it's a rare name, what of it?"

"She told you that her parents are no longer alive?"

"Yeah. She said they died last year." Natsu answered, turning his head to look at Igneel who was still calm, carefully listening to Natsu's answers.

"I see." Igneel said, nodding slightly.

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"Well, reason why I am asking is because at this point I am certain that Lucy is in fact daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia."

"Okaaaay…" Natsu said, elongating the word. He was confused and that was clearly seen on his face.

"Natsu, Jude Heartfilia is very much alive."

Natsu's eyes widened, his eyebrows moved up as much as was possible. He was speechless for good ten seconds before he could collect himself and ask "Are you sure?"

"I should hope so. Unless he died this morning, I am sure that he is alive."

"But, how do you know that Lucy is their daughter?"

"Because…" Igneel said as he stood up from his armchair, fixing his shirt to be straight and without wrinkles, showing his ever-present meticulous side "Jude never did speak much about his own family, but, he did mention that he has a daughter who is spitting image of her mother."

"Wait… you know them?" Natsu asked, turning himself to face Igneel completely with head and body, still confused and with questions.

"I know them both, yes. Well, knew would be correct word. Her mother, Layla has died but I can confirm that they are very much alike if not the same… but I did not wish to assume before I had some compelling evidence that they are related. So, I did a bit of a research."

"But… if her dad is alive… why is she not with him? Why did she say he's dead?"

"That is a good question." Igneel added, letting out a long hum "She clearly didn't want you to know and that is why I am asking if you trust her, seeing as she doesn't trust you enough to tell you something this important."

"Do you think that maybe she doesn't know that he's alive?"

"I sincerely doubt that she is in such state of ignorance. Jude wouldn't exactly be without resources to find her if they did somehow got separated."

"Resources?"

"Jude Heartfilia owns a large company with very high yearly profit. I believe your generation has more appropriate term that could describe him. Filthy rich."

"Huh… But, I've seen Lucy at home… I mean, she is barely managing everything with three jobs…"

"Which is why I am asking you if you are completely sure about trusting her. Despite your tendency to be _involved_ girls of your age I do not wish for you to find yourself too deep in some issues that you may not be able to resolve. I do advise caution."

"You said he has a daughter… What about other one, Michelle?"

"I didn't found anything about her. It is possible that he remarried in the meantime but, circumstances in that case would be different. Raises question why would her half-sister be with Lucy instead of her own father."

"Yeah, okay… ummm… thanks for telling me." He said with a nod and walked upstairs to his room. As soon as he closed doors of his room he threw bag on the bed and sat on the chair. All this now took completely another turn, changed his entire perspective on how he is seeing her. He knew well that he is a bit of a spoiled brat from time to time, taking money he has as allowance and earned through scholarship as granted but he knew well that someone with kind of money a company owner has, one wouldn't be stuck in position to be desperate… and Lucy is very desperate. One question came after another, answers that he couldn't get. Maybe ask her? Right now he will be lucky if she even wants to look at him and she probably told everything to Levy. It came to him, like revelation to greatest mysteries of life… a ray of light in the darkness.

"Loke!"


	23. One out three, one out of one

**A/N: Shorter update in terms of words... I usually prefer updates with 4k+ words but I figured this is just enough for this update. Why? Well... you'll see why. Oh right before I forget, I did not misspell Loke's name. The variation Lok is how I see Gray would call him since I pretty much set it up for them to be close friends, closer than Gray and Natsu would be. So no, not mistake and won't be mistake in future update... I mean I wouldn't dare misspell my second favorite male character of the series. Next update should come pretty soon since I have one hell of an explanation for the events that you are about to read. I proof-read this over and over to remove as many mistakes as possible but if I still made some grammar mistakes I will fix them ASAP. other than that, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

This week was difficult for Natsu, and that is already an understatement. Pure psychological hell and it promised that very thing from the first light of the Monday morning, intending to kept its word until the final dusk of Sunday. He still couldn't sleep. Heavy thoughts still preoccupied his mind, wondering what Lucy is doing, what she is up to now, will she forgive him… Why would she forgive him? Right now he is just barely justifying his own actions. Every thought of her was a dark cloud bringing lightning in his own little world and those thunderous sounds were all the words she shared with him. She said something, but what did she really mean by it? If it wasn't for Michelle she wouldn't want to continue living? Could she even consider that? Her life must be one circle of hell leading to another, that much he was sure about but he couldn't even begin to guess what exactly is bothering her. Money? Family? No doubts, but it had to be something else too.

As soon as he reached University halls he was immediately greeted by his teammates; all those who relied on him to be the best, to be their spear-point that is to be plunged forward toward victory with them holding him by shoulders and back. Nothing changed, he was still a star that shined bright and he was very good at pretending that his only thought now is how to win next game. How ignorant of them… He walked toward classroom, trying to pull himself away from all the noise and into place where he can continue his vegetative state of perpetual thought shuffle until the bell rings and time comes to go home. It didn't pass five full minutes since he came and he already yearns to return to his room. As he moved, closer to the doors he looked forward, stopping in his track as he noticed petite girl standing by the open doors. Arms crossed, eyes focused forward with notebook nestled in her arms. He took one more step and she finally noticed him.

"Hey Levy." He greeted her, smiling as best as he could. Instead of answer she was just looking at him. Discomfort filled his mind; her soft gaze was anything but pleasing. "Right, umm… have cla-"

"Why did you do it?" Levy cut in, making him stop from entering the classroom by just uttering that one question. She didn't move, she didn't look at him but he felt as if he cannot pass through unobstructed passage. What hope there was that she didn't hear about it, was gone, thrown out the window.

"Because I am an asshole." Natsu answered, not knowing what else to say. "Because I did something terrible without considering about future consequences. But… I will fix this."

"How?" She asked, turning head to look at him. "Why?"

"I don't know, honestly, I don't have a single fucking idea how but… It's just… sounds stupid but… because it is the right thing to do."

"Did you mean what you said? When you made that bet?"

"I…" Natsu started, turning head to look at Levy.

"Be honest, at least now."

He pressed lips, hard, further adding pressure with his teeth that bit the inside of his mouth. He could lie now, he could say hundred things, how things are not as they seem, how he only said that because he was made to, how teammates forced him into such position, how his inner circle of friends demanded it or that he was not even fully awake that day and just blabbed first thing that came to his mind. So many possible lies…

"Yeah." He chose not to lie.

"You know, it is not all that bad." Levy said, moving strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "People make bets all the time. Who will run faster, who will reach higher, who will get to girl first. It is nothing uncommon but that's not why it is painful to Lucy. It is painful not so much because you made a best against her, but because you _betrayed_ your own image in her head."

"What image would that be?" Natsu asked. He was already annoyed, not by her lecture but by the fact that she was pointing out all the things he wanted to avoid hearing… because they were true, and he hated those kind of truths.

"That you are asshole who wears a mask, someone who underneath it is not that bad kind of guy." Levy smiled softly as she observed Natsu's reaction. His lips parted slowly and eyes darted around, not wanting to make direct contact with her gaze. "You have seen her face which means you are in the level of roughly eighty percent of entire University. You stood near her within one meter range and that's third of all students... you know her full name and that is less than ten percent."

"Where are you getting with this?" He asked a bit nervously.

"You have been to her house and that makes you one of ten people." Levy continued, pushing herself from the doors in order to turn herself completely toward him, head and body. "She opened up to you; you got to know her better than almost anyone else… that makes you one of five… Whenever you weren't around, she spoke about you. You were her topic through one context or another, talking about what you said or what you did or even about things where she didn't involve you but somehow got back to you. That makes you _third_ person to ever make her smile in such a way."

"Wh-… who were other two?" He asked hesitantly. Never before was he this nervous, his palms slowly began to sweat.

"People she loved. Not family, not friends… people she deeply cared about."

"You think she…" Natsu began after few moments of silence.

"Lucy will never say that openly." Levy waved her head, followed by a long sigh "But she can be quite obvious when she likes someone. She is stubborn beyond levels you can comprehend, but, she is at very least honest with herself in her own, special way. All those times she turned you down, it wasn't because of hatred, although she did hate you a lot, but because she had to do so. Her situation is so, unbelievably peculiar that she has no other choice than to choose whom to trust. I know for a fact that she viewed you as "Asshole" "Idiot" so many times, but she wanted to be proven wrong. You just… managed to prove her right."

"She told me that she hates guys like me, repeatedly."

"She does." Levy added "Because she dated a guy like you. In fact… if it wasn't for the face and that ridiculous shade of pink… I would say you two are twins in character. Lucy, loved him, he was perhaps that one guy who brought her down a star and he hurt her, worst possible way."

"Yeah that sounds like me…" Natsu let out an awkward chuckle, trying to at least lower his own tension. Levy didn't smile to his joke.

"I think she saw him in you and wanted to be as far away as she could from you because you two did almost everything the same way."

"I was… trying to make her see me as me, not as everyone else."

"When did that start?" Levy cut in just as he finished sentence, taking a step forward, closer to him. "From the first moment?"

"N-no…" He stuttered.

"When?"

"Maybe week… and half ago." He answered.

"Don't you think that's a bit too early? Ten days is not enough to open up to someone, let alone to make yourself unique in someone's eyes."

"I know all that!" Natsu shouted, immediately looking around to see who else noticed his sudden outburst. "But what am I supposed to do now? I really want to fix all this."

"Why?" Levy asked "What is it you are trying to accomplish? Are you still chasing after that bet you made with Loke?"

"No…" He answered in defeated voice.

"Look… I was wrong, about a lot of things. I was wrong in believing that she needs a valve to just let steam out. What she actually needs is… someone to lean against without feeling vulnerable. But, to do that, you need to know about her first."

"Alright…" He nodded, taking deep breath "Can you tell me then?"

Levy just waved head "Can't, sorry."

"Why not?"

"Because I made a promise. One that I must keep. But, if you really want to know… ask someone who broke that promise."

"And who's that?" Natsu asked but Levy didn't answer. Instead she simply looked to her side at the other end of the hallway. At the very end of it there was a particular student, uniform neatly buttoned up and pair of glasses resting on top of his orange hair "Loke knows?"

"How couldn't he?" Levy smiled softly, turning around and making her way toward classroom "He is her childhood friend. Mine too."

"Hey, Levy?" Natsu called for her and she turned. "You are her best friend, right?"

"I like to think so."

"Why… why are you helping me?" Natsu asked, expression showing obvious confusion "I mean, I expected you to throw hell at me, shout in front of everyone or send that half-evolved missing link you call your boyfriend to beat me up. Why help me?"

"Because… I like to believe that there is more to you than you allow to be seen. Because, I think that you are still good person and that despite what everyone says, you didn't mean for things to end this way. I think that at one point you wanted it be buried deep inside you for the rest of your life. Not counting us, her closest of friends, you are the only one who helped her, without asking for anything in return. I mean… who else calls me at 3 in the morning to ask me when is Lucy waking up so you can go over there to help her clean the house? That makes you… one out of one."

"One out of one…" He mumbled in inaudible voice. His mind would often race in similar situations but now it slowed down in realization how different they are. In life, he had more lovers that he could count, not that he was counting… there were even those he loved, truly loved to point of wanting to be more than just another bed-warmer. They were all different, they were all in their own way special but none of them were 'that one'. All had something in common and yet, after what Levy said he realized that to Lucy, even though he was not only one, he was unique. And without even knowing that, without even realizing value and weight of that word, he blew it up. Bell rang, forcing him to snap out of his thoughts and enter the amphitheater, waiting for lecture to start.

* * *

"Level with me Lok…" Gray said as his fingers were already pulling the tie, loosening the grip around his neck. Class was done and two friends stood in the hallway "How the hell are you managing to keep all those buttons closed on that thing?"

"It's just uniform and it is supposed to be buttoned up." Loke responded, looking around as he was leaning against the wall "Adds feeling of being equal to everyone else, feeling of belonging to certain area of scholars and best of all…" He took a pause to look at several female students passing by. In an instant his lips curved into a smile "Has a certain class to it."

"I swear I am being choked by this thing." Gray added after finally managing to completely remove tie and hang it over his shoulder. "Can I ask you something?"

"We are way past the point of you asking me if you can ask me something."

"I've been banging my head over the past couple of days. Remember that incident several years ago?"

"Which one?" Loke asked, finally turning head to look at Gray "I recall having a number of incidents."

"One that got you in trouble." Gray said and Loke immediately lost his smile. Eyes wandered around for few seconds before he looked back at Gray.

"I told you not to ask-"

"You what's it about." Gray cut in, finishing Loke's sentence "I know and I trusted you on that topic. I haven't told anyone, but things kinda changed and I need to know."

"Alright, fair, I guess." Loke agreed, hand moved up and fingers rubbed his own lips.

"I won't ask why you did it; I just need to know on whose behalf you did it."

"No one's." Loke answered quickly "It was on my own accord."

"He did something, didn't he?" Gray asked and after few seconds, Loke nodded.

"Juvia told you, didn't she?"

"She told me who did it, not why. Rest of it I figured out myself. I mean, you got yourself in rough spot, when we left him… he was in recovery for a month."

"I know, Gray." Loke nodded, now feeling like he needs to remove his tie. True to his feelings, he moved hand up and loosened up the tie around his neck "I was the one who did it."

"Lok, we've been friends for how long? Fifteen years? I've never seen you that angry in my entire life… I mean, you were practically bloodthirsty."

"Not my finest moment, I admit that." Loke confessed, lips curved into slight smile "I don't regret it Gray, not one bit."

"And you took the fall for me too. You know, I was an accomplice."

"No, you were not." Loke quickly interjected "I did what I had to do and I asked you to come with me. You didn't had to come but you still did. On top of that I asked you not to ask questions about it. I was the one who placed you in that rough spot with me and it's only way I could've thanked for what you did."

"I know… but that's not what I was going to ask you." Gray said in lower tone. "Ever since Sparky got himself involved with Lucy I've started noticing some things. The more I got to know Lucy, more I realized that there is something… wrong. Too many…."

"Inconsistencies?" Loke asked.

"Yeah. And I know you have history with her, you told me that much… That day, when we went over to them… You did it because of Lucy, didn't you?"

Loke took a deep breath. His hands went through his hair as he paced around. Hand then moved to back of his head and scratched almost frantically before he turned toward Gray, only to answer with one simple "Yeah."

"I can dig that, yeah. So… Lucy and…"

"Yeah." Loke answered, knowing exactly what Gray was gonna ask.

"So that means that…" Gray continued, fingers trailing across the air as if he is doing calculations on invisible board. His eyes widened as he looked at Loke who kept same expression. He knew well what Gray just realized and simply nodded "Son of a bitch…" Gray chuckled, moving both hands across his face, letting out a groan "Everything makes sense now."

"Yep, that's exactly it." Loke confirmed.

"How did I miss that? So that's why you hid it from him… You do realize he's probably gonna figure it out? Small chance with his brain but… maybe."

"I know. He probably won't like hearing it."

"What will you tell him then?" Gray asked.

"Yo! Loke!" Loud voice came from across the hallway. Pink hair moved among the passing students, going straight toward them. He finally reached both of them, eyes determined and brows slightly furrowed. "Got a minute?"

"Yeah, I'll ummm... be over there." Gray added as he glanced to his right, noticing Juvia. He felt that he needed to give them room to talk.

"What's up?" Loke asked as he turned head to look at Natsu after he finished observing Gray's departure only five meters away.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Natsu asked, still calm but his temperature was slowly but surely rising.

"About what?" Loke asked calmly.

"About Lucy."

"I did. I told you that there are two girls in entire University you should stay away from… One is Mrs. Evergreen and other is Lucy. It wasn't my fault you didn't listen."

"You didn't tell me you've known her _that_ long. You knew about her problems, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Loke responded with slight frown of his own. "I know her my entire life. You think I would be that oblivious to entire situation?"

"So why didn't you tell me?" Natsu asked, raising his voice. Temperature was slowly reaching its limit.

"Because I am not obligated to tell you everything about my life!" Loke responded with equally high tone "Contrary to your belief I am entitled to keep certain things as personal secrets."

"Bullshit!"

"No, it is not bullshit." Loke took a few steps back. His posture showed obvious signs of being nervous, uneasy about entire situation and he took few seconds to look around. Natsu on the other hand, didn't let him one moment out of his sight, eyes fixed on him. "It wasn't even supposed to end up like this."

"What do you mean it wasn't supposed to end up like this?" Natsu asked, moving closer toward Loke.

"I mean, I expected you to fail and move on like you always do." Loke answered, turning his head to look at Natsu who was now reaching the high levels of anger.

"You expected?" Pinkette asked "What kind of twisted bullshit is that?"

"Oh don't you start playing the saint, you were the one who proposed the bet."

"Yeah, I did!" Natsu almost shouted, not caring who would hear "But you could've at least told me something as important as her current situation so I don't turn into complete asshole!"

"You didn't need to know!"

"Son of a bitch!" Natsu yelled. Out of nowhere his right fist flew and hit Loke left cheek and corner of lip. Loke stumbled back, losing the balance but quickly regaining it. Natsu was faster and within next moment he grabbed Loke by his shirt and slammed against the wall, holding him tightly pressed against. "You wanna tell me now how things like that are not important?"

Loke said nothing; he just glared at Natsu who was being pulled by Gray away from him. He looked down and took his glasses from the ground, miraculously still intact, and placed them on his face.

"It's not that simple, Natsu." He said in calm tone while Natsu kept struggling to escape Gray's hold.

"Bullshit! You thought I would just run away the moment I saw her living alone with half-sister?"

"Half-sister?" Loke suddenly asked, confused by Natsu's choice of words "Natsu… in first year you ran away from a girl who was flirting with you just because she had a kid." Loke added as he looked at Natsu.

"How is that even important now?" Natsu barked. Loke kept looking at him.

"You know…" Loke let out a short chuckle "You really can be dumb sometimes. Even Gray figured out before you and you were the one in deep while he was on sidelines."

"Figured _what_?" Natsu asked, suddenly looking toward Gray who released him the moment he saw Natsu calm down.

"Natsu…" Loke started. His hand moved up and with thumb he wiped blood from corner of his mouth. He looked at pinkette and continued "Michelle isn't Lucy's sister or half-sister."

"What do you mean not her sister?" Natsu asked, suddenly looking at Loke.

"That's what she tells everyone who ask. You got the official story that just about almost everyone hears when they see them together."

"The hell are you saying, Loke?" Natsu asked, frowning heavily.

Loke sighed deeply before saying "They aren't sisters. Michelle is Lucy's daughter."

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**A/N: I don't think this came as much of a surprise... I mean few even guessed it right, some from the start! But yea this is the second plot of the story which actually is the game-change event but still not the most complicated one. Oh things are gonna get really messy. Raise hands who saw this coming. Come on, I know you are out there with "I told you so!" or "I knew it!". Yes you knew it and yes you caught the subtle hints I was placing around and I congratulate you on it!. I do, I wanted to obscure this information as much as possible right up to this point. If I managed to surprise someone, I think I did good. Thank you all for your continuous support.**


	24. Her story

**A/N: Apparently I am very transparent person! I expected that revelation would cause a lot more surprise but then I remembered my readers pay close attention to the story. Bravo, my friends, bravo. The story continues, I am nto nearly done with it although I have no excuse for this long period without updates. I will try to fix that. As always, I am more than eager to see what you think about chapter, if there are any grammar mistakes I will correct them as soon as possible.**

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Final bell rang and classes were dismissed. Loke's lip was aching, pulsating with every heartbeat and every nerve in lip tried to make it feel as if lip was the size of a fist. It certainly felt like it. Day promised great many wonderful things when it started and somehow it got to this. _Lucy… How long has it been? Months? No, years._ He felt as if it was his job, his silent duty given to him by none other but himself. Tight feel in his chest that made even walking a task that only Sisyphus could endure. It was familiar feeling. Anxiety. Great anticipation of many questions that are to come from someone who barely has any interest in anyone else but himself. _What an irony_. Day is still far from ending.

He made his way outside of the university building and with a slow pace he made it out of the gate. Just as he passed it, there Natsu was standing beside, waiting for him. Loke sighed still feeling the sting on his lip "I guess I owe you some answers, huh?"

"Damn right you do." Natsu didn't even look at him. His voice was calm, covering the silent anger that he was beginning to gather in his guts.

"Alright, let's walk."

Natsu pushed himself from the wall he was leaning against and followed Loke outside of Fairy Tail premises. They made their way toward the park across the street, walking in slow pace… the entire time Loke looked down, gathering strength to speak his mind but Natsu was slowly losing patience. He pulled out a can of soda from his bag and handed it to him, uttering a low "Sorry" to which Loke replied with a nod and pressed it against lip. Finally, they sat down on bench a bit further from the pedestrians.

"What do you want to know?" Loke asked, holding still cool can against lip.

"Everything." Natsu replied swiftly.

"Everything…" Loke let out a snort, voice became silent as he rhetorically asked himself "Where to start?"

"From the beginning. Work your way to the bottom of this mess." Natsu added, sitting beside Loke, looking in the distance.

"What do you know about term _corporate marriage_?" Loke asked with now normal tone.

"Heard it once or twice." Natsu answered.

"Right… Well to explain, corporate marriage has two meanings. One is a marriage without love, where a couple makes an agreement to get married for the sake of marriage, be it to maintain certain appearance in public or to overcome economic difficulties. Times can sometimes be hard, everyone is looking for security and sometimes two people do it to overcome those difficulties. No love, no passion, no feel of requirement to be involved in making it work. They know what it is about and they just make a front story to make others believe they are actually in it for the love, while there is another side of the story underneath it. The second meaning is exactly what it sounds like. Marriage between two of their successors to strengthen their respective companies."

"So Lucy was married?" Natsu asked as soon as Loke finished sentence but orange-haired student waved his head.

"You are jumping to conclusion." He sighed as he realized entire issue is deeper and harder to explain to someone like Natsu. "Let's put it like this… When you make a company, you don't just make it to earn a bit of money and then close it. If you are going to make big company you intend to run it for long period of time. Often that period of time extends beyond lifetime and son inherits company from father and then passes it to his son. Those large companies are often run by one family who populate board of directors once it reaches certain size. If for example, a man has a brother and two sons, he will put them to be into such board to ensure the power to influence company remains in the family and not fall into hands of syndicate."

"Hold on a second." Natsu interrupted him "I get it you know this shit but what does it have to do with Lucy?"

Loke rolled his eyes "You wanted story from the very beginning, now be patient. I am getting there." He moved can from his lip and opened it, taking a large sip before continuing "Companies in Fiore and those who started their companies as family business are greedy bunch and they tend to see themselves as small kingdoms. If you have more profit than expenses, your kingdom thrives, if you have greater expenses than profits, you will bankrupt soon. Normal people constantly complain about 'economic crisis' but in truth companies are first ones to feel the heavy blow of economic depression. Hard times befall just about every company at least once in their lifetime; those with bad luck and bad competition are constantly under fire. If one company has monopoly on market, they control profit, but if they have to compete, it means lower profit and constant adjustments."

"This is where things get tricky. See, if company is ran by family, in order for it to stay in family you need to have heir, someone to continue the family business. If you have son, that son has to marry someone and trust me when I say this, they loathe possibility of their children marrying someone who is 'nobody' in corporate world. What they actually do is, arrange marriage with another company and this has multiple benefits."

"They do that?" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"It is not that surprising in world of corporations. I mean, arranged marriages are pretty much common thing."

"And people don't get a choice? Sounds a bit..."

"Cruel?" Loke chuckled "Why would it be? Young married couple practically bathes in money and will inherit both companies. All they have to do is pretend they are in love for the publicity and there is nothing they will lack in life. Perfect little golden cage. But, point of this is to unify two companies into one and thus strengthen your front in war against competition. Two companies pour their resources into common goal and share profit. Lesser companies are unable to compete with them and are forced to leave the game."

"Ok, I get that… how does Lucy fall into that?"

Loke lost his smile and sighed again, tip of his tongue went over the still fresh cut on the lip, tasting the saltiness of the now dried blood "Hearfilia family has always been involved in agriculture. Jude's grandfather Marcus owned a large land. He inherited gold from his father, which he used to invest in land. After some time, he bought more land and expanded his domain of interest to crops and lifestock. That is the moment "Heartfilia Konzern" was created and since that moment they managed to spread their influence in all agricultural industry. Today, there is no area of it that they do not have influence in or are not directly involved in. Agricultural machinery, genetically modified seeds, tools, livestock food… You won't make mistake to believe they literally owned the entire branch."

"But, such dedication to work means that you have less time for family." Loke continued, remembering everything he heard and was told "To counter the possibility of not having heir to the empire, arranged marriages were made with special prenuptial agreement. That is how it was done with Jude's father, that's how it was done for Jude himself."

"Wow…" Natsu said in low tone.

"That's not where story ends. See, Jude married Layla through same means, corporate marriage, although my father says that they were one of the rare ones who actually had luck to fall in love before marriage. And that's how Lucy was born. Heir of the family with silver spoon in mouth and responsibility to one day take over business. But… tragedy struck."

"Her mom?" Natsu asked, remembering what Igneel said. Loke just nodded.

"When Lucy was seven, Layla died and to make things worse… Lucy was there to see it. She was present in hospital when her mother died."

"You saw her?" Natsu asked and Loke waved his head.

"No, that's what Levy told me. Levy is Lucy's friend from mother's side; I came later from her father's side."

"The hell?" Natsu asked, again looking at Loke.

"Lucy's mother and Levy's mother were childhood friends so Lucy and Levy were pretty much together since, well always, actually. I came later because my father and her father were associates and friends."

"So, what happened?" Natsu asked impatiently.

"Well, her mother died and Lucy changed. She began to withdraw more and more into herself and Jude was not that big of an asshole to just ignore it. Levy told me they visited child psychiatrists but all believed that Lucy just needs a few more friends. I mean at age of seven she was already suffering from depression. That's when I came in. My father and Lucy's father worked together and he would frequently bring me over in hope that Levy and I would be sufficient to prevent Lucy from developing some serious mental damage from such depression. Lucy was quiet; she barely spoke to me or Levy. Over time we somehow managed to get to her and she allowed us to be a bit closer to her. We were friends ever since… But she hates me now."

"If you were with her for that long, why does she hate you?" Natsu continued with questions.

"I did something…" Loke responded with soft but sad smile "Something terrible."

"What did you do?"

"After we started hanging out and Lucy got to know me a little bit better, she managed to change. Slowly, but she did. She started talking more and more and would even smile… laugh. I swear, I could listen to her for hours. It was such… beautiful smile, honest and pure. We grew up together and became closer, all three of us. We went to same elementary school, same high school, had same friends too but… things changed. And they changed a lot."

"Heartfilia used to own their branch but in modern days they are not only ones anymore. They lost monopoly when other companies were made and they were forced battle for the dominance of the market. To be perfectly honest, times are rough and Heartfilia Konzern had to join with Heston Industries. Roughly seven years ago they managed to complete this and changed name into _H-Tech Agricultural Industries_ that you probably heard of.

"I didn't." Natsu answered with slight frown.

"Do you read Jewel magazine?" Loke turned head toward Natsu as he asked.

"No, not really."

"I don't blame you. Jewel magazine is not something average knucklehead such as yourself reads." Loke chuckled, much to Natsu's displeasure but he didn't seem to mind it

"It is magazine entirely focused on world of economy. In it you can find any and all news that go public about companies, their CEO's, rumors and most importantly, stock value for just about all of them. If you own business, this is your weekly 'must-read'. Heston was small company but had some really progressive ideas and Jude saw the opportunity to improve his own company with them… which he did. It was listed as '_collaboration between companies for the better advancement in technology to bring you best products_' but it was in fact just a takeover. However, even that didn't secured company's future and they got into pretty bad situation once foreign competition came into the game. Jude needed to have ace in his sleeve in order to secure more resources and more investments and if you are kin with large company owner or bank owner… you have it…"

"So… Lucy was to be part of arranged marriage?"

"Well, you may see her as '_heir to the empire_' but in truth… she was just a bargaining chip." Loke answered, making Natsu immediately feel rock in his throat. His gaze showed sign of disgust. "To be used as means to an end."

"That's sick…"

"By our standards, yes. In fact, ninety percent of population will agree that arranged marriages are old institution which should remain in history books. Today, love is predominant factor for marriages for the middle and lower class but for high class… arranged marriages are normal thing. They openly accept the idea and practice it fully. Anyway, this is part you will be more interested in. See… Lucy didn't know about this until she grew up. Publically, she attended the school just like everyone of us but she also received lessons from her father in order to learn how to lead company and how to make profit. Upon reaching the magical number of sixteen, she was told all about her father's empire and what to expect in the future. To secure dominance on the market, contract was made between H-Tech Industries and another company with intent of arranging marriage once Lucy reaches 20 years of age."

"Is that even legal?" Natsu asked in disbelief, trying to digest all the information that was piling up.

"It's highly illegal but if you grease enough palms, no one bothers to question you. Corruption is rooted deep in our legal system and with right judge on your list no one stands a chance to raise case against you and win. Money makes all everything go smooth. If you own a company and you want to stay in the game, you have to keep up with competition or set the pace for them to follow. To do that, your company must be progressive, you must always bring something new, better and what is in the root of that?"

"Jewels." Natsu said and Loke nodded.

"Jewels. Your ideas require money and more money those bold ideas that can affect entire game. If you cannot finance it yourself, you need someone to invest in your company but that other person won't just give you the money and hope your plan works. They need something in contract that will allow them to prosper even if investment fails. Other way to deal with it is to unify companies into one through corporate marriage and acquire assets for your project. You again need, bargaining chip. For Jude that was Lucy. But things didn't work out well, see, Lucy found out about this and she did what most girls would do in such situation."

"What did she do?" Natsu asked, noticing the grin on Loke's face.

"She rebelled. She was against the idea of marrying some guy who was fourteen years older than her just so her father can secure more assets. First she refused to participate in lessons, then came phase of her skipping school and refusing to go along with just about anything Jude said. He didn't back down and neither did she and in turn… their relationship deteriorated fast."

"Now comes the point where you get to meet the main villain of the story."

"Let me guess…" Natsu added, standing up from the bench "She went out one night, you followed her to ensure she doesn't cause trouble, she got pissed drunk, you were pissed drunk and you two had sex until you knocked her up?"

Loke sighed, bowing head forward in exasperation "If that was true there wouldn't be any problem today. No, it wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"A guy named Sean. See, halfway through this rebellion stage, she met a guy from another class in high school. They hit it off quick and before you know it they were couple and this dude… I swear, if I didn't know any better I would say you two are mental copies of eachother." Loke chuckled a bit "He was cocky, arrogant, self-centered, narcissistic jock asshole who only had sex on his mind. Good guy though, popular, social and was playing basketball for the school. I look at you and I see him, without the ridiculous shade of pink." Loke chuckled again, making Natsu frown.

"Fuck you. Keep going."

"She… fell for him" Loke continued, smile on face slowly disappeared "Hard… it was literally painful to watch." Loke stopped for few moments, taking another long sip from the can, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "I knew her for a decade; I was there for her every single day… I fell in love with her almost immediately after I met her and I told her that I liked her but all I got was that she likes me too… as a brother. And what did I do? I swallowed my pride, my dignity and kept her secret."

"Secret?"

"See… her father didn't know about Sean. It was a thing that they wanted to keep away from him as much as possible. Afterschool time was out of the question, her bodyguards were shadowing her every step. However, during school… well during school she could relax a little bit more than usual and I was there to make sure they aren't watched by Heartfilia employees. You know how it goes, I see someone, I whistle and they break it up, wait for air to be clear."

"Must've been hard." Natsu said, watching as Loke's expression become saddened, pained with the memory coursing through his brain.

"You have no idea." Loke added "We were slowly approaching graduation and then… calamity hit."

"Something happened to Sean?"

"No, to Lucy. I do not know when it happened or how it happened. Maybe they forgot the condom, maybe it broke or maybe she miscalculated her days. She noticed few signs and out of pure instinct she decided to test herself. Test was positive. She was pregnant. From that point on, things went downhill in full speed." For a moment, he stopped, rubbing his face with hand, eyes slip under glasses to reach to his closed eyes. He collected his thoughts and continued "We both knew that it was just a matter of time before her father finds out and she didn't want to abort. She… loved the guy and this seemed like a ticket to new life, away from all that corporate bullshit."

"Lucy… went over to him one evening. Told him the news and since they just graduated, she wanted to run away with him, go somewhere far away. Son of a bitch not only refused to accept that he was father to a child but he immediately broke up with her, said that it's too early, he plans to go on college and not get a job with just highschool. Worst part is, his parents supported his decision, right in front of her and refused to accept any kind of responsibility, blaming her for the mistake that should've been his fault."

"You were with her?" Natsu asked "When she went to him."

"No, I was at home that evening."

"Then how do you know what happened?"

"Because she told me. After she left the house she came to mine, told me everything that happened… That, was the first time I ever saw her cry like that. Out loud, desperate… My heart was breaking apart with every moan and all I wanted was to break his teeth." Loke concluded, words became louder, mixed with growl.

"What did you do?"

"She…" Loke started but then he stopped, swallowing huge rock that appeared to be in his throat and continued "She told me that she still plans to run away. Abortion was out of the question and even though it was going to be child of a guy who didn't accept it… she still wanted to keep her. She was planning to run away next day but her father found out about that plan and basically kept her in mansion."

"Talk about bad luck…" Natsu commented, as if trying to ease the tension with a jest. In truth, he wanted to ease up the pressure in himself.

"It wasn't bad luck, Natsu." Loke said in louder, decisive voice, looking down at the point between his feet "I told Jude about Lucy's plan."

"Why?!" Natsu shouted suddenly, standing closer to bench, closer to Loke, towering above him "Why the fuck did you do that?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Loke barked, looking up at pinkette "She was about to run away from home, pregnant and soon she would be unable to do anything! No work experience, no knowledge on how to raise a child and all alone!"

"She ended up well." Natsu added, still glaring down at Loke. "You should've gone with her."

"If I knew then that things would end up like now I would have. I thought… even if she remains at home, she will be unhappy but she will be taken care of… she won't lack anything and her child would grow up in family that can provide all the best things in life."

"Is that why she hates you now? Because you told her father about her plan to escape?" Pinkette asked and Loke just nodded, making Natsu utter yet another _Son of a bitch!_ comment.

"It wasn't exactly secret that I told Jude. Lucy felt betrayed. It was her chance to escape the cage and I… threw her back in. I was afraid, Natsu… I was afraid that she wouldn't make it, that she would end up on the wrong path and make wrong decisions that will haunt her for the rest of her life and… I couldn't bear to watch that. She yelled at me… told me never to speak to her ever again…" He stopped again, his expression showed obvious sign of struggling. His lips were quivering and all his might was focused on keeping his tears in.

"I was… frustrated, angry, enraged… I lost that one person whom I loved and all because of an asshole. I decided to see him, personally."

"You beat him up?" Natsu asked and Loke waved head, lips curved into smile. His eyes were still teary but he managed to look up at pinkette. The gaze was as cold as ice, he enjoyed every word that left his mouth.

"No, not just beat him up. I found him one day at the park along with few of his friends and I straight up went for his throat. I grabbed him and pushed him against the tree, demanding that he takes responsibility. He refused, had some explanation, excuses… I do not even remember what it was but when he called her slut… my mind went completely blank. I started hitting him, punching, kicking… I threw him down onto the ground and sat on him… I remember punching his face over and over and over… my knuckles were bloody, bruised from his teeth but I kept punching until his entire face was red and blue."

"Dude… you took down him and his posse all by yourself?" Natsu asked. He was amused by the story, surprised by the side of Loke he never saw before since the day he met him.

"No, not by myself… Gray was with me."

"Wait wait… Gray was with you? He never told me about that…"

"That is because I asked him not to." Loke responded "I begged him not to tell anyone what happened and he helped me a lot that day. Sean was admitted in hospital shortly after, took him month to just be discharged. I broke his nose, skull on his forehead, jaw, knocked out entire row of his front teeth, he nearly choked on them." Loke chuckled, remembering the event "Of course, his family pressed charges against me for serious bodily injuries, demanded full penalty of three years but my dad pulled a lot of strings and got me only six months in jail and restraining order for the rest of my life."

"What about Gray?" Natsu asked.

"I took full blame, confessed that it was my own plan and that Gray was not aware of the situation until we got there. The resulting fight was my fault and he was defending himself from the attacker. I asked him to come along, I couldn't let him take the blame for me."

"That's some serious shit there. Takes balls to do that." Natsu admitted, feeling respect toward Loke and his courage "What happened after?"

"After that I went to jail and Lucy ran away."

"How did she do that?"

"I cannot tell you that. Sorry Natsu, I hold onto that promise. I will tell you this…" Loke stood up from the bench, taking another sip before throwing can into nearby garbage can "Jude did something horrible and they fell apart completely. Lucy managed to run away from home and use whatever money was on her credit card to find a home and spend next… year and half taking care of Michelle. In the meantime, she managed to get into Fairy Tail with scholarship. How she managed that, I do not know but Mavis knows I am grateful she did. And now we are here."

"Now we are here…" Natsu repeated his words in lower tone "You really should've told me about all that."

"What would've changed? She would've been another random girl you know nothing about; learning about her history would benefit neither. Look… I get it, I am an asshole, I know I am and making that bet with you was not in my favor but… I have been looking out for her since we were kids and I had to look at her grow up and grow onto someone else… In all honesty, every time someone does try to make a move on her I get jealous and want to beat him up. My comfort is that if I behave like an asshole toward her… I can forget about all the feelings I have and I can sleep at night. Lucy will manage, I know she will because despite all the crap that happened in her life, she learned how to become a survivor. After Fairy Tail, she will find good job, raise Michelle properly and with luck, find a guy who will treat her well... treat her the way she deserves. What I wonder now is, what will you do?"

"Me?" Natsu asked, rising eyebrow. He was caught unprepared for the question that Loke asked.

"Yes, you."

"I don't know. I expected baggage but man this is heavy stuff."

"I know it is and in all honesty I don't expect you to stick around. Even I didn't see this far and… she is managing somehow. Beyond my expectations." Loke took deep breath and slowly exhaled, preparing to leave "Lucy is not your average girl, Natsu. She never was, never will be and her life was being guided by mistakes of others. Take my advice and just, move on."

Natsu watched Loke walk away, hands in his pockets with bag over shoulder. He wasn't confused anymore by entire situation but truth seemed heavier than he expected it to be. Small voice in his mind began questioning every promise he made to her. Is it worth keeping them? Should he continue? And even if he does… what would his goal be? Questions seemed endless and now only way to answer was right next to her, in a place he felt he can no longer reach.


	25. Moth

**A/N: Wow it took me long enough to make this update. A lot of things happened, things I am not yet sure where to put in my head but slowly fixing them. As for the stories... well they are here and waiting to be concluded. This one won't end soon.. I realized that I wrote 25 chapters and still haven't reached halfway through the story. Yep... I hate myself...  
**

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Loud whistle filled the court. Players immediately changed formation and within no more than two seconds were ready. Whistle blew again and entire formation fell apart… or so it appeared to untrained eye. Every step, every turn made by players was well planned and executed with almost mathematical precision and that entire dance made coach grin. For the past week everything seemed to fall well into place for him, starting from private life right up to the court not to mention players seemed to fall into line everytime he shouted… especially those most problematic ones.

"Faster!" Elfman shouted right before he blew into whistle again "Foster, Burton, front and center! Dragneel, Fullbuster on the bench, take five!"

Pair moved with quick pace from the field sat down on one of the benches. It was one hard practice that coach Elfman put them all through and Gray was already visibly exhausted. His mouth was open, panting heavily as he wiped his forehead with back of his hand. Natsu on the other hand, though tired, was nowhere close being drained as his friend. Of course he was panting, of course he was bathed in sweat but his expression simply gave away the feeling that he can give more.

"I am beat…" Gray commented, looking over at pinkette "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Natsu replied, sporting a grin.

"Because you look like you are training to run a marathon around the globe."

"I have enough for Elfman and enough to spare." Natsu chuckled and in this gesture Gray joined in equal measure.

"It's good to see you motivated again."

"Just needed some time to collect thoughts and find my inner 'old me'. Find my inspiration." Natsu chuckled, looking across the court. His eyes lingered on each of the players currently being whipped into new definition of shape by Elfman. "I remember what it is. I decided to go to big league, become professional and stand on the top."

Gray smiled and with right hand patted Natsu on his shoulder. This indeed sounded like old Natsu, one that he knew, one that he could trust to make all the wrong decisions and still not regret one bit. Perhaps, just perhaps, things might return to the old. Whistle blew again, long and hard and just as loud voice followed "That's enough for today, hit the showers!"

"Oh boy…" Gray commented in low defeated tone "Sadist is cutting practice short again."

"What are the odds he is taking pity on us?" Natsu asked, each word sounded more like annoyed grumble.

"Same as me becoming queen of the world."

"Mrs. Strauss is probably responsible for this… Someone is gonna be happy tonight and we are gonna suffer tomorrow." Natsu concluded and stood up. Good or bad, there was always excuse for coach Elfman to make extra rough training. If he has bad day, they are first to know that, if he has good day, they are first to know. Difference between these two days is that on good days, he fluctuates between regular and relaxed practice right up to short but rough ones and all for the benefit of the players. They hated him for it but they couldn't complain with results since it was 50% their effort and 50% his strategies that won games. Today's short practice meant that next practice will be longer in order to compensate.

Gray scowled as he looked down on his own stomach. Finger went over mark, blue and purple in color, not larger than 5 centimeters in diameter and as he touched it he winced. This was his own fault… well, Natsu's too but mostly Gray's fault for attempting to catch him at full speed. It wasn't collision that made the bruise, it was the fall. Today was Natsu's day and Gray knew that Natsu is good but he never wanted to openly admit this to him. Not because of his pride, it was Natsu's pride that made him worried and it will haunt him for the rest of studies in form of pinkette holding this over his head.

"Wow… man that looks nasty." Natsu commented as he stood before Gray, bowed down to look at large bruise. He may be idiot sometimes but he is not ignorant idiot "Who would do such a thing to you?"

"Up yours cinder-brain." Gray growled as he turned on shower, letting cold water fall down on him.

"Want me to kiss it better?"

"Kiss me and I'll end you."

"No sense of humor." Natsu teased as he turned off his shower. "I'll wait for you outside."

_Yea… that is old asshole…_ Gray thought with slight smirk as he washed himself from the soap. Torment be damned, it is moments like this that made him feel as if everything will fall into its place. Hard training followed by a stream of water that washed the sweat and exhaustion away. Sometimes, stagnation it key to bliss. It didn't took him long to finish drying himself and he was on his way out when he noticed Natsu outside of locker room, leaned against the wall with eyes wandering around the hallway where students passed by. Day was hot. Summer will come soon and yet they all had a demo version with just a little bit of content of what they are to expect. Unbuttoned shirts and ever-rising scent of perfumes coming from students… girls in particular.

"You seem busy." Gray commented as he approached pinkette, making him snap out of thoughts and direct gaze toward his friend with shirt half-buttoned and bag over his shoulder.

"Just browsing a bit. I just figured out that it's been long since I had good unwind."

"And in your case, unwind means having to wake up in unknown bed with unknown girl, no memories and no regrets." Gray grinned after Natsu nodded with wide smile on his face. His eyes looked up, now mimicking Natsu's previous action. "You do realize you're being watched?"

"I am?" Natsu asked quizzically.

"To the left. Long brown hair." Gray glanced over to one particular student and then back at Natsu who took a long look at her. He wasn't wrong and girl, upon meeting his gaze just smiled and waved slightly with left hand.

"Oh right, I know her." Pinkette commented.

"Who is she?"

"My unwind." Natsu winked at him and moved along, followed by a "You are a pig!" comment coming from Gray. Hand moved through his hair to fix few wild locks and he approached girl in question who sported brighter smile as pinkette moved closer. "Cute look and sweet smile, you must be a cupcake." He said his soft voice and eyes brimming with desire.

Girl just giggled at his comment "That is your pick-up line?"

"Is it working?"

"Kinda." She said as she looked up at him "Maybe."

"Then it's my pick up line." He said with pride in his voice "Name's Natsu."

"I know." She added "I've been seeing you on court. I am Nicole."

"Cute name for a cute girl, I got it right from the start." Natsu added which only made girl giggle a bit more. All the signs were there for him to notice. Facing him directly with smile, subtle moves of her hand that moved through her hair and how she tried to make herself just a little bit taller by stretching up. She was very much interested in him and he knew this.

"That's sweet of you." She responded with faint blush on her cheeks "So, I am guessing you are free?"

"Depends. If you catch me, I will become unavailable." He added. Smile was still present on his face and look in eyes turned into one seen in a predator. He was hunter and she was the prey.

"Oh, hold on a sec." Nicole said, pulling out her phone that started beeping. She groaned, disfiguring face, followed by a deep sigh of displeasure.

"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.

"It's my dad. Brother's birthday is next week and he forgot if he wanted PlayStation or Xbox. Ugh, I can't deal with this now."

Natsu's smile slowly began disappearing as he listened to her "Yeah, it's a big deal. Some people have it rough." He sarcastically commented.

"Tell me about it." She responded, making him raise eyebrow. Has she not recognized his tone? Is she serious about this?

"No, I mean, some people can't even afford such luxury." Natsu added again.

"Well we aren't them." Nicole said and opened her book. On the top side of the page she wrote number and tore it from the page, handing it to Natsu. "Why don't you give me a call sometime?"

"You bet." Natsu said, curving his lips up into a smile. She winked at him and turned, walking away. All the time, he kept looking at her, face frozen in same expression as fingers slowly turned piece of paper between his fingers. As soon as she was out of his sight he pressed fingers hard, crumbling the piece of paper, throwing it straight into can.

"Things went wrong?" Gray said as he approached, noticing Natsu's action.

"Nope, things went smooth." He said calmly.

"So… why did you throw away her number?"

"Because her biggest issue in life is what type of console they are going to buy to their little spoiled brat, failing to realize that some people actually are barely managing." Natsu sighed, deeply. Hand that previously crumbled small piece of paper now ran through his hair "Honestly, I cannot involve myself with that kind of person."

Gray chuckled, rather loud. All this has been incredibly amusing to him, especially realization that Natsu haven't exactly returned to his old self, but that didn't exactly turned out to be a bad thing.

"So you mean to tell me that girl practically threw herself at you, giving you no reason to put an actual effort to lure her to bed and still you said no because… she is inconsiderate?"

"Oh shit…" Natsu commented as he himself realized what he has done.

"I would like to compare you to a butterfly but you are more of a moth." Gray added, still chuckling and watching as Natsu pace around him with hands moving across his face.

"Geez, thanks for the compliment…"

"It is a compliment. Moths represent change and growth. They start as caterpillars and from those ugly bodies, beautiful creature emerges. Like moth, you yourself have evolved from an asshole to a human-like asshole."

"Shut up…" Natsu groaned loud, standing in front of Gray "Can't you see that I am in pain?"

"Oh what kind of imaginary pain do you feel now, princess?"

"The pain of having to use my hand! Fuck… I am starting to hate myself…"

"Wow. I never realized Lucy managed to make such hard imprint on you." Gray added, still having his smile on the face "Look, this is not a bad thing. It just means you actually are starting to mature and develop certain standards as opposed to being general scumbag with no ethical limits."

He took another big sigh. All this became all too familiar to Gray and in a sense he felt some sympathy toward Natsu. He remembers well how it was last time when Natsu was broken and that was something he is not eager to remember. No… it is something Gray knew Natsu loathed remembering and for the good part of this entire ordeal he felt as if Natsu will sink into that ocean of despair. There was one girl that managed to shatter him completely and pinkette was in worst of mood for months. He feared this might turn out to be first of the stages toward that same end… mostly because how things ended with Lucy is similar how it ended with other one. Perhaps he learned enough to avoid it.

"You still hadn't talked to Lucy?" Gray asked and to his expectation, Natsu waved head.

"I don't know if I should. I mean… I want to but at the same time I don't want to either."

"You can't avoid her for the rest of the studies."

"I know… I know… plus I made that promise to help her for her projects and…" Natsu suddenly became nervous. It just occurred to him that if she is to completely ignore him, she will have to revert to previous partners who would once again completely abuse her. The very thought of it infuriated him. Maybe he has changed.

"Just don't wait too long." Gray said and took a step the left, trying to walk around Natsu but pinkette made same step, once again standing in front of Gray. Well this is nothing unusual, happens all the time. Gray then took step to the right and pinkette mimicked him perfectly yet again. Is he teasing him? Doesn't look like it; there is no smug grin on his face. Slowly he tilted head to the left and to no surprise, Natsu mimicked that motion as well. Out of pure instinct, Gray turned head, looking over his shoulder and there he managed to spot a very familiar blonde student. Slowly, he moved head forward to look at Natsu, realizing that he is not teasing him… he is hiding.

"You need to talk to her, now." Gray said.

"You told me that. I know, ok?" Natsu responded with slightly heightened voice to show his annoyance but quickly he calmed down "I just… think she might need a bit more time to cool down."

"If she is anything like I think she is, cooling down won't help. You need to resolve this issue so just go over there and talk to her."

"Right…" Natsu said as he took deep breath and exhaled long through his mouth. Anxiety was present and hitting him strong as he started walking toward her, every step was heavier than previous one, tightening the knot in his stomach. His palms were already moist from the sweat and throat decided that it is just right time to become as dry as a desert.

"Hey…" He said as he stood behind her, still keeping bit of distance. Lucy turned around and looked at him.

"Hey." She responded with completely neutral expression. There was no smile, no frown, not a single bit of emotion present on her face and it scared him.

"So… good time to talk?"

"About?"

"Well I… kinda figured you needed some space-"

"You thought correctly." Lucy cut in, still glaring at him with her brown eyes.

"I just want to fix things…"

"There is nothing to fix, Natsu. Nothing is broken."

"You know what I mean…"

"What is it that you really want, Natsu?" Lucy asked, turning herself completely to face him, finally showing some form of emotion and it was anything but happy one.

"A chance."

"For what? So you can repeat same thing and send me into another day of self-doubt? I told you, I can handle myself well and I do not need you to rescue me."

"I am not here to rescue you, I just…" He stopped, looking around as he became even more nervous "I just want things to be… normal."

"There has never been 'normal' with you. Honestly I do not even know which one is normal Natsu. Is it one who will try everything to have sex with me or one who pretends not to?"

"You may not believe me but I am not all about sex." Natsu interjected "And you may also not want to believe me but I really do want to restore our friendship. I am not asking you to trust me, I just want a chance to prove that I want to be your friend. Just friend."

Lucy kept looking at him. Inner struggle was raging strong. She dared not believe him, even though his face may have been telling the truth she knew well not to trust such people. There is no way that he is telling the truth… in the end, he is just another good liar. Actor, proficient in his art, eager to trick, eager to deceive and all for audience to see and believe. Maybe he is all that, maybe he is just another person whose motives are going only as far as to fulfill his own desire… and yet… the small voice in her head kept telling otherwise. What if he is not lying? That small sliver kept poking her. He is so much like him but he never looked back. He never once called after things fell apart… and yet, Natsu is. Why does he desire so much to be beside her? Has she not proved herself to be broken person?

Desire… there is a way to end this torment.

"Come after nine tonight." Lucy said, face showing signs of defeat.

"What?" Natsu asked, suddenly struck unprepared.

"After class, I have to go to work…" Lucy explained, letting out deep sigh "You know where my house is. Come after nine."

She said nothing more and simply walked away, not even once looking back. She found a way out, not perfect, but one that might end this nightmare… and she already hated herself for what she is to do. As soon as she was far enough to leave his sight, she was joined by another person, one that she actually enjoyed spending time with.

"Hey Lu." Levy said as she walked by her friend "I saw you talking to Natsu, everything alright?"

"Sort of." Lucy responded with small smile but bluenette knew it was not the happy one.

"I know that smile… What did you do?"

"Nothing." Lucy said but as soon as she looked at Levy she knew that it will not be end of discussion… Levy will press on until she gets her answer "I told him to come after nine."

"Ok and once he shows up?"

"Once he comes I will give him what he wants." Lucy said, this time in more decisive voice but not without a clear hatred for herself.

"Which is…?"

"He wants to have sex with me right? So I will give him that and he can leave me alone."

"Are you insane?" Levy rushed to stand in front of her, making blonde stop in her tracks "That is not the answer to the problem."

"I already have enough issues and I cannot concentrate on studies with him constantly shadowing me." Lucy sighed deeply, hiding her face in hands "I am tired, Levy… I am exhausted from everything… from work, from college… life is exhausting me and I need one less problem on my mind. If this is going to solve one part of it then I'll do it."

"It is still not the answer." Levy repeated, frowning heavily at her friend.

"And what should I do?"

"Talk to him. At least try, you have nothing to lose at this point and he just might not turn out to be worst person in your life."

"It's a bit late for that… Look, I know what you are trying to do and I am thankful for it but I have made up my mind. Sooner I am done with it, sooner I can forget about him…"

"Lucy…" Levy said in soft tone "He is not Sean. You have to forget about him."

"How can I forget when I am being reminded every time I look at Michelle?" Lucy asked, her voice trembling.

"I am not saying you have to forgive him. They are two different people and what they did is incomparable. It was just a bet, one that he made without thinking but… he hasn't done anything bad since. I am saying… just try."

"Why are you helping him?" Lucy asked as she swallowed hard.

"I am not helping him, I am helping you." Levy said, moving a bit closer, taking her left hand into hers "You know how hard it is to watch you walk around every day with weight on your shoulders without having a way to actually help you?"

"You are already helping me." Lucy smiled down at her. Warmth of Levy's hand was one of the few things that could always comfort her, knowing well that she can trust her… more than anyone else.

"Babysitting is not enough. Just try, he might surprise you."

"I doubt it." Lucy said. It was the truth, she really did doubt that anything good with come out of her trusting him but it was also truth that everything was catching up with her. Jobs became more demanding, exhausting and money earned just barely covered expenses. With constant pursue to get high grades and keep scholarship, it really felt as if everything is ready to crush her down into small cube. With all that came realization that she didn't really believed Natsu would stop pestering her even after he gets what he wants… so why did she suggest it? She hoped that it will at least be revealed to her when time comes… question is… will she endure it?


	26. My saving grace

**A/N: Been a while huh? Well I know, busy busy busy so... as apology, longer chapter and goodies... mhm... Have to keep you happy! :D Let me know what you think, and don't be too cruel with comments :D**

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"You know… we gotta find you another place to be. My place is not your hideout." Gray commented as he left kitchen, walking over to what could be defined as living-room in his small apartment. On the couch was Natsu, spread across it with shirt unbuttoned, looking up at ceiling. Gray extended his left hand, offering bottle of beer that Natsu quickly took. Pinkette was quiet, first of many signs that Gray recognized as if it was a symptom to a larger problem. Truth be told, there are very few things that Gray doesn't notice about Natsu… Happy or sad, upset or elated, he was easy to read and right now his silence was borderline annoying.

"So, care to tell me what happened?" Gray asked as he pulled chair from the table and sat on it.

"Lucy told me go at her house. Tonight, nine o'clock." Natsu answered, still keeping bottle closed and eyes focused at some unknown point on ceiling. Curiosity grew in Gray. He expected all kinds of different answers but this one took him by surprise

"And reason you are here and not at home getting ready is because…?"

"I got time." Pinkette answered, opening the bottle and taking a long swig from it.

"You know…" Gray started after long pause spent in silence "I can't say I know her enough but I have to say that it does sound fishy."

"Of course it is." Natsu leaned forward, placing his elbows firmly on knees as he looked at Gray "I know I am not exactly brightest crayon in box..."

"An understatement of the century." Gray quickly interjected, grinning wide in amusement as Natsu frowned.

"But I am not stupid." Natsu continued, speaking through gritted teeth "I know where this is going. She thinks that if we have sex, I will leave her be and forget about everything."

"Will you?"

Natsu took another pause, eyes darting around the room, trying to avoid answering this question. He knew that he cannot prolong his silence. Eventually Gray would simply repeat the question and he didn't want that. "No. Does that seem stupid to you?"

"Not at all. In fact, it sounds like something a mature person would say. What are your guts telling you right now?"

"To… not do it." Pinkette said with great hesitation. His right hand rose up, rubbing his face from top of his forehead down to his chin, followed by deep sigh "I don't know what to do."

"Well that's new." Gray remarked, taking another sip "You not knowing what to do with girl is something I did not think I'd live to see."

"I am not messing around here, Gray!" Natsu commented angrily but despite ever-rising temper, Gray remained completely unaffected by Natsu's fiery responses.

"Neither am I. You want my advice? Go there with intent of explaining things, not just fixing them. I think she deserves to at least know your side of the story before you attempt to salvage situation."

Words rang inside Natsu's head. Of course Grey is right, that wasn't the issue. Fixing things is easy to say, just wish it in head and entire scenario will unravel in accordance to your deepest desires but the reality rarely works like that. He knew he had to fix things, he knew he had to do something and change current status but wishing is one thing and achieving it is completely another thing. Arriving with flowers and chocolate is cheesy enough to earn a snarky remark and one way ticket to failure. There was also fact that Lucy was everything but the girl who would look at such gesture with smile. He could ask Gray, so far he has proven to be quite insightful, although that is natural in his case since he is watching entire drama unravel from sidelines, having completely different perspective and catching details that Natsu couldn't even notice. But he did notice something else… another change in Gray's attitude.

"What is the deal?" Natsu asked, finally opening the bottle and looking at Gray who looked back at him "At first, you told me not to go for it, then go for it, then forget about her and then entire cycle again. I swear, I can't figure out which side you are on."

"I am on your side, Natsu." Gray answered. After ten long seconds of painful silence, he took a deep breath, leaning back against the chair while eyes fell down, looking at the label on the bottle "I barely know Lucy a month and we haven't even spoke much. I cannot say that I know what she is going through. I can pretend and say "hey, I know what you're going through" but let's be honest, only one who can say that is Lucy. I do feel sympathy toward her, I truly do… but I cannot stand by her side and abandon yours. That's not me, that's not us…" His hand quickly pointed between himself and Natsu repeatedly "You and I… we know each other long time now Natsu and we've went through thick and thin. Regardless what happens in my life or your life, I am always going to stick by your side and support your decision."

Natsu smiled at his words. Indeed they have been through difficult situations, ones that would otherwise make other friendships collapse. But they emerged, often with injured faces and pride but still standing, still laughing. He respected that, he respected Gray's stance and opinions, often listening to him rather than his own voice of reason.

"If you are about to do something incredibly stupid, and we are talking about shit level of stupidity that will inevitably hurt her, then yes I will confront you about it. Fortunately, your brain doesn't push you do to something that stupid."

"What makes you say that?" Natsu asked, slightly narrowing his eyes as head back, creating a bit more distance between them, as if he is testing his friend with this question.

"You've always been an asshole, Natsu, you can't deny that… but at least you've been honest asshole. Whenever you went after girl, you always told her what to expect. You didn't promise her castles and kingdoms, just a fleeting fun. And you know what? That's fine. As long as they know where they stand, as long as you know where you stand, it's fine. All you promised was fun and you delivered and at least you were decent enough to date one girl at the time."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" Natsu asked.

"That is something I cannot tell you. The reason why I went back and forth is not because I switched sides… I merely followed you. It was you who switched sides between wanting to screw her and wanting to love her and all I did was prepare you for what might come out of those paths. The reason why it appears to you that I switch sides is because your own little world is changing. We are all centers of our little worlds but us, you, me, everyone else we know… we are all affected by choices we make. Choices that you make will affect me too. When you are sad, you rub off on me, when you are in best condition, you pull everyone with you. Hell, whenever you play 110% on the field, I need to work twice as much just to break even. You were… predictable, in a good way, but that all changed once you met Lucy. I mean come on, you making promise to protect her? Calling me to tell me you are falling for her? You don't do that if person you are trying to protect is not important to you. But you were indecisive and because of that I had to adjust my stance just so I can continue to support you and in some cases it appeared as if I am taking her side. I sympathize with girl, trust me I do not want to go through what she is… but I can't fully support her while you are standing against her. So instead, I am going to push you in direction that you chose."

"And what if I chose to… continue trying to fix things with her?"

"Then I'll do what I can to aid you in that."

"Be straight with me, Gray." Natsu started, rolling bottle between his palms "Where did I go wrong?"

"With Lucy?" Gray asked. He took one deep breath, looking above Natsu, pondering on the question that pinkette asked. "I think the bet is pretty much everything that went wrong. Maybe because you didn't tell her sooner, maybe because you didn't know just how bad it would be if she finds out. From what Loke told me, it could be any number of reasons why it went south. Perhaps she overreacted, I mean… from where we stand it is just a bet and people are objects of bets every day."

"Where do you think I did wrong? Forget sides for minute, just be honest" Natsu started asked, pressing one lip against another as eyes were fixed on student.

"Honestly?" Gray asked and Natsu nodded, granting him the freedom to speak freely "Well first of all… that bet never should've been made. Yes I know, I was not exactly helping by participating but none of us expected it would end like that. The way I see it… I think Lucy was not hurt because of bet itself, I think she was hurt more how you managed to make her be like."

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, leaving behind the solemn expression and replacing it with genuine curiosity.

"Look at it like this. When you make the bet, all you care about is achieving victory. It is either competition or dare or show off but in the end you do what you must to get what you want, often disregarding means you use to achieve it. More often than not, you don't put much care on it. Remember when lost your scarf that you got as a present?"

"Yeah." Natsu answered with a grin "I almost cried, couldn't stop tearing house apart. Turns out I forgot it at your house. "

"Exactly." Gray quickly added, pointing at Natsu "And remember that gold chain you got as present?"

"Oh right… One that… what was her name again?"

"Maria. Rich girl Maria. She got you that chain after you had sex with her. You told her that you are not wearing it because you don't want to lose it but you lost it five days after she got it to you."

"Ok, but what does that have to do with scarf?" Natsu asked, waiting for revelation from Gray.

"When you lost it, you didn't care that much about it. I mean, you were still upset for… what? Five minutes and you forgot all about it within ten. That chain easily trumps pure value of scarf ten times over if not more but you still got upset when you lost piece of cloth simply because you care a lot about it. My point is, if Lucy didn't care about situation, about you… she would shake her head and move on. But that's not how it ended, did it?"

"Yeah…" Natsu said, lowering his voice. His eyes suddenly dropped down between his feet, trying his best not to remember the events that transpired at Laxus's party. His attempts were not successful and every moment of it was as vivid as if it happened mere minutes ago. "Still trying to forget that."

"So, she cares… or cared, not sure anymore myself." Gray said and leaned forward "I think, Lucy just thought that she is means to achieve victory, that after getting it, you might forget her, forget what you did while trying to get close to her, all those idiotic things that make one feel appreciated. The way Loke told me about it… she desperately needs another friend and that spot somehow got taken by you, only to realize that it's a fleeting thing."

"I… didn't see it that way." Natsu said, suddenly looking at Gray who simply raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, that's just my theory. Like I said, I don't know the girl enough, it could be whole different reason."

"No, you are right." Natsu stood up, placing his bottle on table and was closely followed by Gray's eyes.

"Where are you going?" Gray asked, turning his head only to see Natsu head toward the door.

"I'll tell you when I get there."

Evening was slowly approaching and it was time for the other face of Magnolia to show. With night always come creatures that lurk in it, those who shun the sun and bathe in the moonlight. Vampires… No, not the mythical creatures that drink blood, these vampires are but simple people who often became addicted to night life; it became their only way to experience full pleasure of it. It is the moment when Sabertooth comes to life, showing its full glory and allowing such unusual creatures to experience their version of ecstasy that comes from music, alcohol and plenty of random encounters. Woe to those who lurk in Magnolia unprepared for they just might drag into the night, not wanting to see the light again. Everyone who is even an iota interested in experiencing unique sensations that night-life brings are already in elated mood as they are getting themselves ready. All but one…

For Lucy, what should've been a day of rest and preparation for yet another start of chaos, is now moment of anxiety. There were way too many thoughts swirling inside her head but by far most prominent one was '_Why did I say that?_' She kept repeating that question over and over as she was applying her make-up in bathroom for one guy she didn't want to even see right now. Why is it important for her to even try to look decent? She justified it with hope that if he does this quickly, she can quickly forget all that happened.

But she couldn't shake fear off.

Lucy was afraid, more with each minute that passed. What is he like? Will he force her? Will he be aggressive, dominant? Will it hurt? It hurt last time but since that one time, she not once had any form of close bond with any guy, let alone even considers having sex. Fear was deeply imbedded into her head. She put away her make-up and looked at mirror again to see herself. Any guy wouldn't even dare to call Lucy anything less than beautiful but she never saw herself beautiful. She never had time to even consider such a thing and all the comments that she received were more like a breeze… coming to her and passing by without a moment to enjoy it. Right now, she needed a good pep-talk, making herself believe that this has to be done.

She left bathroom ten minutes later, walking down the stairs and greeted by Levy's eyes that followed her closely as she approached.

"This is bad idea, Lulu." Levy commented with quite obvious worried face, watching as Lucy approached table to take her bag and rummage through it.

"Too late to change it now." Lucy added, trying her absolute best to feign confidence but with little success.

Levy took single step toward her, slightly frowning "You do realize that this is why things went south right?"

"Yes, I know… But that's what he wants. I'll go there, have as little contact as possible and get out. He can brag to his friends and I can… I can…" Lucy suddenly stuttered, as if trying to find appropriate word to follow her 'I can'

"You can what?" Levy asked.

Soft, silent sigh escaped Lucy's lips "I can… return to my life." Without much delay, she closed her bag and placed it over her shoulder, looking at one of the mirrors near the door once again.

"There is still ten more minutes."

"I don't want to let him get in here, best if I wait for him by the street."

Levy's hand ended up on her lips, pressing hard against it as even she didn't know what to do or say. Up until this point, she did decent job feigning her own confidence but now she could no longer hide signs of obvious concern. All her senses screamed at her to just grab Lucy and stop her from leaving the house, to tell her that there is probably another way. Problem is, she didn't know what else is available so for better or worse she decided to trust her best friend.

"I'm off." Lucy said as she reached for the doors "Call me if something happens, ok?"

"Ok…"

Lucy opened doors and looked out, immediately taking step back. There he is, leaned against the outside frame of the door, all dressed up in jeans and black jacket, waiting. This is not what she expected and entire situation completely burnt all possible things she could say. Natsu didn't seem to be that interested in starting the conversation, a thing she was counting on.

"How long have you been here?" Lucy asked after what seemed to be hours of silence… in truth, not longer than five seconds passed.

"Ten minutes, give or take a few." Natsu answered, pushing himself from the frame, placing both hands into front pockets of his jeans. She expected him to smile from ear to ear but in truth… he didn't seem to be happy. In fact, he was even frowning lightly.

"Right… let's go." Lucy said as she moved pass him.

"Where to?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said, raising voice slightly "Anywhere you planned except here."

"Not here?"

"No, I will not have sex in room when Michelle is sleeping."

"I see. So no sex in house?" Natsu asked. At that moment it looked like yet another stupid question to Lucy. Little did she know that he simply needed a clear confirmation.

"Yes…"

"Good." Natsu said and moved inside house, passing by Levy who watched him with great amount of curiosity, wondering what he is up to. He moved over to living-room and sat down on the couch, eagerly waiting for Lucy to walk back inside… and so she did.

"Do you need public now?" Lucy asked angrily as she walked inside and stood in front of him.

"Pffft, hell no." He commented "When I have my sexy time with girl, there is nobody in room but me and her." With wide grin he suddenly looked at Levy, raising his hand and waved "Hey!"

"Hey…" Levy replied to greeting, still curious about what she is just witnessing.

"Natsu, let's just get this over with… please…" Lucy pleaded with low tone, almost begging.

"We are. You don't know how sex with me is, so for all you know… this could easily be my foreplay and since we are on time designed for sex you accepted to have with me, I get to dictate how it goes. So first… sit down."

Natsu tapped on cushion of the couch that was beside him while Lucy simply watched him, feeling as if her every instinct was screaming but eventually she sat down, as far away as possible.

"Good, now… why don't we start with you telling me about yourself?"

"Why is this even relevant? Do you need your bimbos to tell you about themselves? Does that turn you on?"

"Hell no, usually I want to know as little as possible. Kinda makes things easier to end but I am making an exception."

"Well aren't I lucky girl…" Lucy commented with her eyes rolling.

"I want to know about you, Lucy. I never got to do it and I chose this to be best chance I will ever get to do just that." Natsu said, turning around to face Lucy fully.

With hesitation and no small amount of agitation, Lucy asked "Why do you need me to tell you when Loke already told you?"

"Because I don't want to hear it from Loke." Natsu quickly answered Lucy's question "I want to hear it from you."

"Why does it matter?"

"It matters to me!" He practically shouted "It matters to me because I did something bad, I know I did something bad but honest to God I don't want it to end like that. Without a doubt I managed to hurt you and I know 'sorry' won't cut it… but I figure, if I get to learn about you, I can understand why it hurt you so much and I can at least try to fix what I did…"

"But why do you want that?" Lucy asked, watching as Natsu now struggled to answer. It is not that he didn't know it, he knew what he wanted to say… _Because I care about you_… but he couldn't say it. Not now, not when things are still hot and chaotic.

"Because I… because…" He started, ironically repeating same thing Lucy did just minutes ago.

"Because?"

"Because I don't want to lose a friend…" He answered… lied "Because I tried to move on with my own bad ways only to find out that past weeks were… too much fun and honestly… I don't want it to end, not like this. So I want to learn about this person called Lucy, I want to see who she was, what she was, what are things that push her forward, I want to learn about her again."

"Don't you think it's a bit late for that?" Lucy asked, feeling as she is not as strong as she wanted to be. He was saying almost everything she needed to hear.

"No." He shot quickly "I don't think it's too late. Especially if it will help me learn more about who you are and show you who I am."

"Natsu…" Lucy started, keeping her mouth open to say something but no word came out.

"Ok, I get that it's hard so let's try this…" He pointed around them with finger, making imaginary circle. "Let's pretend that all this is 'honest zone' and while inside, you have to speak truth. Whatever you ask me I will tell you, no matter how private it is."

Childish. Yes it is childish but in Lucy's mind it did present with some form of unique opportunity. Perhaps opportunity to clear things up not just with him, but with herself too.

"Ok, I'll play that." Lucy said, crossing arms "Why did you make the bet with Loke?"

"Because I saw you as challenge." Natsu answered almost immediately, not even taking a single second to think as if he expected question to come. "Because, I never had troubles getting a girl and you just… shot me down. More and more you looked like… an achievement."

"An achievement…" Lucy repeated, feeling her heart suddenly drop down. The thought of being further defined like an object added even more weight on her.

"Yes." He said. This one word was now slowly but surely crushing Lucy, her eyes fell down to look at couch cushion, trying to find whatever strength she has left.

"But…" Natsu started, prompting Lucy to look up at him "After a while, I felt less and less motivated to sleep with you and felt urge to just… be beside, to hang out. I never once dreamed I would be helping another girl with house chores… you have to understand I am hiding when spring cleaning comes."

"Gray told me." Lucy said, curving edge of her lips up as she remembered Gray's explanation on how Natsu handles such things.

"Of course he did… fucking traitor." Natsu mumbled under breath "But, in all honesty, that day somehow felt a lot more pleasant than I could've imagined… And that caught me by surprise. I felt as if I did something good, something really, really good."

"And you no longer have the urge to sleep with me?" Lucy asked "Remember your circle."

"No, I do. I still want to have sex with you but not like this. If it happens, it's gonna happen because you want to, not because you need to. So no… today you won't be getting any of it."

Lucy was in slight shock and so was Levy who stood just out of sight but close enough to overhear entire conversation. Natsu's expression was simply put stoic, unchanging like to a man who no longer has anything to lose and decided to open his heart.

"Now my turn." He started "I want you to tell me about yourself. Describe yourself."

"You already heard that from Loke, right?"

"I did but I want you to tell me." He said with determined voice, making Lucy take a long sigh before starting her story all the way from the very beginning. Her childhood, the moment she lost her mother and moment of realization that she will never return and all the thoughts that occurred in her loneliness. She told him about the time Levy and Loke got into her life and how they started playing. Smile formed on her face at that memory, seemingly only happy one in her entire life. Then came the story of how they went to same school, carefully orchestrated by her father to ensure as healthy social life as possible. She didn't hid fact that she knows about it but she didn't cared that time… all that mattered were her friends and mundane daily life that she led… well… as mundane as possible for a daughter of agricultural magnate.

"You enjoyed it, didn't you?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah…" Lucy answered, now more relaxed than she was before, gently rubbing fingers one against another as she was telling her story "Somehow I no longer felt alone in this world."

"What about your dad?"

"Father was always busy. I rarely even saw him at home. It was always one more meeting, always one more phone call that led to him having to leave."

"You didn't know he planned to marry you to some guy?"

"Not until he told me. That was... big shock for me." Lucy said, smile that was on her face has all but disappeared "I was explained that I am heir to the family and everything it held but as I grew up and contemplated on idea, it turned out that I am just… means to an end."

Natsu's expression changed, slightly but noticeable. There it was, that sentence again 'means to an end'. Was she always that? Just another useful object to achieve some higher goals? He would've been mad, he probably would've been right in showing his anger but couldn't. After all, not so long ago he thought of her very much that way.

"Did you love him?" Natsu suddenly asked, making Lucy look at him. She could've feigned ignorance and simply ask _'Who?'_ but she knew exactly who Natsu is referring to. Then again, she could also lie and Natsu wouldn't be any wiser… but this circle, this, imaginary line around them somehow compelled her to speak.

"Yes…" was her answer.

"What was he like?"

"Sean was… at first he was very much like you." Lucy spoke with soft smile on her face as she was reminiscing the past "Popular, charming, handsome, rebellious… Kind once I got to know him but…"

"Is that why you fell for him?" Natsu kept asking, with every adjective given to this phantom of a guy his own willingness to listen dropped. But he wanted to hear it to the end.

"That and because… I guess at the time I thought he saw pass my own heritage. I honestly thought that… he is that one guy that I kept dreaming about. One who will take me away in arms from that cage I was living in."

"But he didn't." Natsu added, unwillingly. His lips parted as he saw her tears forming along with very forced smile. He saw it right there, all those masks that she had on her face, masks that tried to feign strength and confidence, were now cracking and showing insecurity that was dug deep inside of her. He wondered… just how much of a weight did he had to carry by herself all this time?

"When I told him about me being pregnant, all he could say is…" She stopped for a moment, feeling boulder stuck in her throat. After hard swallowing whatever air was in her mouth she continued "He said that child isn't his. No matter how much I tried to explain that he was only person I slept with, he denied. I got desperate and tried to talk to his parents but… they refused me too. Right in front of him… I was shot from all sides with accusations that I was sleeping around."

"Loke also told me that Sean didn't want child because of his studies."

"It was there in the context…" She added, wiping her moist eyes, already ruining makeup "Then he said it out loud just to make sure I understand it."

Anger. That is what Natsu felt right in that moment. Pure, unadulterated anger that he felt he needed to vent out. In his mind, fooling around is one thing but if you make a mistake, you pay for it. You accept responsibility. This person… he was more and more looking like a very decent target for a good punch-bag. It was clear to him just why Lucy erected walls around herself, why she was slow to trust him. If she only sees Natsu as Sean's double, then he needs to ensure he is seen as Levy once said he is… one out of one.

"Get up." He ordered as he stood up from the couch. Lucy shot confused look at him "We're going."

"Where?" She asked.

"Out. Foreplay is over and now main event is coming."

"Wait… what are you-"

"Sweetie, I play anywhere between half hour and forty minutes and since we are on my time, you and I are going out to grab something to eat."

"This is ridiculous…" Lucy commented, still sitting on couch, clenching her hands onto cushion.

"No it's not. You agreed to have sex with me and I chose how we spend that time. Come on, I know a good spot for some comfort food. My treat."

Lucy's mouth gaped open as she listened to him. None of this was supposed to end up like this but his continued beckoning left her in strange waters. Without much of a choice, knowing that he won't back down, she eventually agreed, without a word uttered. Perhaps it came at most opportune time too… the entire situation left her with so many anxiety today, she barely ate anything and hunger was slowly creeping in on her.

"We'll be back soon. Don't wait up." Natsu said as he walked by Levy who immediately tried to look as if she wasn't eavesdropping this entire time. What he didn't see was the amount of shock she had… and the grin too…

For long time they walked in complete silence on the sidewalk. None wanted to break it. For her, it was as awkward as it can get.

"So where exactly are we going?" Lucy asked, looking to her side at Natsu.

"Like I said, comfort food. Plus you look like you need some time out, and when I say out, I mean out of your uniforms, house, daily visit to dungeons of Inquisition. I know just the place."

There was no way around it, she had to trust him on this. For some odd reason, she felt like she does trust him. He could've cashed his 'sex check' and be done with it. She gave him that freedom but he still refused, openly elaborating his intentions to her. It was strange, unusually comfortable just to walk like that, have a small talk about random things they encountered on the street during the evening. She didn't know where he is taking her… but that didn't matter. The weight on her shoulders has been lost somewhere along the way.

They got to a park, well lit with both yellow and white light of the street lamps, further illuminated by numerous stands and small lights along the path that led further into the center. Music, smell of corn, cotton candy and fried food was ever present and all kinds of faces were around… none seemed sad. It was always like this, summer or winter like a daily festival for everyone to enjoy. Natsu suddenly smiled wide and beckoned for her to hurry up as he ran toward one of the stands where a man with white suit and rather large moustaches that proudly defied gravity.

"Yo, Sergio!" Natsu greeted man who was just giving a large, well wrapped bundle to a couple.

"Eheeey it's Natsu!" He yelled with very strong foreign accent "Back with a fresh honey hmmm?" Man grinned wide nodding at Lucy. He would've made another comment but Natsu's quick wave with head and wide eyes stopped him. It was not uncommon for him to see Natsu with a girl, but he knew when to shut up. "Now what can I get you? Eeeeeeverything is fresh!"

"Yeah I'll have your cheese pizza slice. What do you want Luce?" He turned to look at her.

"Oh umm…" Lucy stuttered a moment as he mouth watered a bit. After a quick swallow he continued, with more relaxed voice "I'll just have fries."

"You know his food ain't that bad?" Natsu commented "You can grab anything you want"

"What do you mean that bad?" Man suddenly spoke, seemingly offended by Natsu's remark which followed by series of sentences and hand gestures that neither Lucy nor Natsu understood. He was offended but that didn't stop him from pulling pizza from the heater, cutting a slice and folding it in half. As soon as he handed him wrapped bundle, he proceeded to fill a hard-paper box with fries and handed it to Lucy, still speaking in his native tongue. All she could do is keep her smile on.

"Now go, go go go, you scare my customers!" Man shouted after he took money from Natsu, shooing them with hands.

"He looks mad." She said, looking back at him.

"He's always mad. I'd be mad if I looked like him and had to stand all day on the heat. Give him mini air-conditioning unit and he's gonna be happy like a pig in a pen."

That comment drew more than just a smile on Lucy's face. She laughed, genuinely, and that gave Natsu entirely new perspective on Lucy. She was… cute without make up, turned quite stunning with make-up and her Sabertooth uniform… but this is first time he saw her laugh this much at his half-assed joke. His heart raced as he continued with his bad jokes. Truth be told, she was already amused and they just piled up but he didn't want to hear her stop.

"So how do you like comfort food?" He asked, taking another bite from his pizza.

"It's good…but I don't think you have firm grasp on what comfort food is."

"Hey, I know plenty but I ain't gonna get myself stuck in some fancy restaurant. Sure food is great but if I need a tie and a suit to enter, I will be everywhere BUT in comfort zone. I'll stop worrying about life and I'll start worrying about the bill! Give me fattest, greasiest, tastiest piece of meat… stick it between two buns with some veggies and for 200 jewels my worries are gone! That is comfort food in my dictionary, one that drags you away from problems not pulls you into new one."

"Yeah… I suppose that's true." Lucy said, still keeping her smile on. They were slowly approaching her house… last 200 meters before this little walk ends. "Hey… is that honesty circle still working?"

"Hmm? Oh, yea sure."

"Would… would you have talked to me if it wasn't for the bet?" Lucy asked, looking over at him as he licked his finger from the extra cheese that was stuck on it. He stopped walking for a moment, trying to figure out a good answer… a truthful answer…

"I don't know, honestly." He said, resuming his slow walk beside her "Maybe, maybe not… maybe I would've noticed you at the club but…"

"But?"

"Well you ain't gonna like the answer." He added.

"Humor me."

"Well I would probably just try to lure you somehow to bed and more you turn me down, more frustrated I would become and add more effort to it."

"And what would happen if you actually managed to get me to bed?" She asked curiously. This time, he knew the answer but he didn't want to tell it. Maybe if he lies… she doesn't need to know… but… he lied plenty already, now would be just wrong for his own comfort.

"I would probably tell you to just be friends… and I would probably try to just find a way to make you realize it is best if we move on." He answered, hoping from the very bottom of his heart that she won't just take this badly.

"Right." She said, making him even more nervous.

"I ain't trying that though." He quickly added, hoping it would somehow salvage it. Lucy just nodded, saying nothing. In silence they approached her door, more and more looking like this is final stop in the evening.

"I know you are thinking that I may have overreacted…" Lucy said but Natsu quickly interjected.

"No, I get why you did it. Honestly, I probably would've done the same if I was in your shoes."

"Doubt that anyone can be in my shoes." She commented, turning around to face him.

"I know but… Look… I know I look like a bad guy and I behaved like one. I get why you need to protect yourself and I feel bad for trying to invade your space, your own comfort zone. I just… I just want you to know that…"

"What?" Lucy asked, quirking her brow up in expectation for his answer.

"I am not Sean… I may act like him but I am not him."

"I know…" Lucy replied in more quiet tone.

"There is no bet left standing. What was done is… I ain't repeating that and nothing binds me to stick around but I still want to be here, to help you. It's hard to trust me but… you can lean on me."

"Thank you…" She said, offering but a faint smile. Yet again his heart started racing, fast and hard and his own mind was not falling behind. A single second looked like hour. What was he doing? Crazy idea, absurd idea. Every red light in his head started flashing, every alarm suddenly activated, telling him, warning him, threatening him to abort.

"I can wait." Natsu said, inching in just a little bit closer. He expected her to slap him, but she didn't. He expected her to step back, but she didn't.

A small moment, half a second maybe, a fast movement. He didn't intended it to happen but it did… and as soon as he parted his lips from hers he was thrown back into reality.

He expected her to slap him… but she didn't.

"Until then, I'll stick around. You need a friend and I'll be that… just… don't expect me to only be just that. Not for long."

With a soft smile he stepped back, turning around and walking away, leaving Lucy to remain before her doors, dumbstruck by the moment. Like a robot, she turned around and opened door, closing it quickly behind and leaning against it, right hand pressed against her mouth. Levy didn't take long to notice Lucy's return and she walked over to the door.

"You're back early. Why are you looking at me like that? Did something happened to your mouth? Why are you… all… red…" Every word was quieter and more elongated than previous one. Levy is genius in her own way and she doesn't need to be drawn. Her eyes were just as wide as Lucy's and the small grin suddenly turned into almost maniacal smile.

"Did he?" Levy asked, trying to make Lucy speak up.

Blonde simply rose other hand and pointed at Levy "No no no, don't you dare say it!"

"He did, didn't he? He kissed you?" Levy asked again, now bouncing on her spot with almost unnatural amount of joy. "Hold on, I have to write this down! This is history!" She said in almost squealing sound, running off to living room where her bag was, leaving Lucy to groan.

"I won't hear end of this…"


	27. Yes

**A/N: Here I am, back from the land of the dead with another update after... embarrassingly long period of pause just to prove I am alive and that this story is not yet near it's end. I apologize for the delay and I assure you that I intend to see this story to it's proper end rather than wrap up. That being said... it's not ending soon. I think I am somewhere halfway through but more things keep coming up and I feel like I should add them. Main plot checkpoints will remain the same and with some fillers inbetween. Enough of my rant, please enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Ten minutes until eight. First lecture of the day is about to start and students are already entering in amphitheater, preparing for the lecture. Most are still talking, socializing, sharing experiences, ideas, news and gossips. It is natural progression for a social creature that is Homo sapiens. They live for this, they live because of this. Friends, associates, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses… humans depend on other humans and so they band together to satisfy that ever present urge to be part of something bigger than themselves as individuals. The classroom is a hotspot for it and those who are not following this recipe are either half-asleep or Natsu.

There he is… sitting at the desk closest to the stars that ascend from the professor's desk and up to the last of the rows. His face is neutral, absent, sitting in silence, leaning his chin into his hand with elbow on the flat surface of the desk. Eyes are fixed, staring in the distance toward some unidentified point and his mind is lost in an endless train thoughts. Those who would see him for the first time would assume he is but a wise man, pondering on the exact purpose of life. Fortunately, too many know him better.

"There you are." Familiar voice pulled him from his endless philosophical trance, pushing him back into the less impressive world of reality "Didn't see you at the gates, assumed you just overslept."

"Not today, Gray." Natsu answered, following man in question with his eyes until he sat down beside him.

"Bad sleep?"

"Not really, didn't sleep at all." Natsu answered, still keeping his pose, moving his head enough to be able to see Gray.

"Well color me impressed. Natsu not being able to sleep is close to national holiday." Gray jested, sporting wide smile on his face, though Natsu was not that impressed with the snarky comment "That reminds me, how did it go?"

"How did what go?" Pinkette asked, feigning ignorance on the subject.

"Don't play dumb. Did you do it?"

"Depends what you consider as 'do'." Natsu said, continuing to avoid a proper answer. It didn't take more than few seconds for Gray to become suspicious and Natsu knew this. For a man who saw through just about everything that happened up to this point, it would be impossible for Gray to miss this. Well… there is that and the fact Natsu told him all about the 'event' yesterday prior to him leaving to attend it. But now… now he was worried. In his head, he knew that he did the right thing and if it wasn't the right then it was closest thing to being right thing. That, however, didn't change the fact that Gray might disagree. What scared him was him trying to pull him away from situation. He could also push him forward, give him good advice and point him in direction needed to resolve the situation but… he couldn't muster enough courage to tell. Right now, it isn't the question _If_ Gray will figure things out… It was _When?_

Pinkette took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. All that gave Gray extra material to be curious. Anxiety in Natsu continued to grow.

"It ended well, actually." Natsu said. It wasn't untrue but it wasn't exactly what Gray wanted to hear.

"Yes but did you do it? Don't you fucking dare ask me what does _do_ mean, I am asking you if you had sex with her."

"No, we actually just went for a walk, grabbed a bite to eat and… returned." Natsu concluded, nodding with head, trying to make Gray believe in the it.

"Is she still mad at you?" Another question was shot toward him. This time Natsu frowned, changing his blank expression as he pondered on the events that transpired last night

"I don't think so… No, I think it went good."

"Huh… so you didn't screw up?" Gray asked, a little surprised.

"What? Is it that big of a deal that I didn't fuck up?"

"No no it's…" Gray started but stopped mid-sentence, receiving the glare from Natsu "Actually yea, now that I think about it… It's a little miracle. Ok but if things went well why are you looking like you are going through mid-life crisis and can't decide how many cats you wanna buy?"

"Well it's not that nothing happened… I mean, I did do something."

"Ok, what did you do?" Gray asked after long sigh, expecting yet another stupidity from Natsu that generations will look back and study like a black box pulled from the wreckage.

"I kissed her." Natsu said after a short pause. His eyebrow slowly rose as he once more stared into empty spot, fully realizing what he did. It's not the first time it hit him, in fact, the entire sleepless night was about that kiss but every time he would try to clear his mind, the scene would flash once more, making him feel like a deer that just saw a pair of headlights coming toward him.

"Riiiiiiiight…" Gray said, elongating the word as much as possible "And she slapped you across the face."

"Nope…"

"Did she kick you?" Gray pressed with another question to which Natsu just waved head "Did she yell at you?"

"Dude… she didn't do anything like that. She didn't reject me… I think she kissed me back…"

"How did you figure that out?"

"Because when I kissed her… her lips moved a bit… not much I think maybe… millimeter, maybe two but you know… a bit… moved…" His gaze turned to once again look at Gray who had his mouth gaped open. He was completely dumbstruck at what he was hearing and it took couple of finger snaps for him to once again focus.

"Yea… ummm… I kinda blacked out." Gray explained as he cleared his throat. Now he felt like that same deer. "Ok so you kissed Lucy, she didn't reject you and let's just put possibility of kissing back on the table… let's just leave it there for a moment. Lucy could perhaps , possibly, probably, MAYBE like you… You aimed for that, so, why do you look like you are about to end three weeks worth of constipation?"

"Cause I have no idea what to do now." Natsu added, shifting from his pose, leaning back on the chair, hands placed behind his head and stretching.

"You don't know what to do?" laughter followed after the question "Seriously man, you? You kiss girls the way I breathe. Second base for you is equivalent to morning wood. Since when are you acting like pre-pubescent boy who just got kissed by a girl for the first time?"

"I don't know, man." Pinkette sighed heavily "I mean, everything went smoothly, we resolved the whole issue with the bet…"

"Well at least you didn't screw that." Gray quickly interjected but Natsu didn't seem to mind it one bit.

"…and I took her out for a walk. We talked, we walked, we ate, we came back and I just kissed her. I don't know I guess I expected her to react but she… didn't."

Nervousness was still there. He didn't want to tell Gray about what he told Lucy… at least not yet. The fear of being advised against his wish was still there. It is Gray, he will probably do what he did before and support him but then he might not. Maybe he will see this as just another bad idea and advise him to just drop it. He had good excuse not to tell more even though he was 100% sure he will continue with questions until he squeezes last bit of information from him. Professor just entered and thus ended all possibility of them talking openly about it. For once he was glad to see professor in bad mood, and she demanded absolute silence. He will probably be cornered by him once again and be under barrage of questions… but before that, he will have to confront her.

* * *

Bell rang, lecture ended and classes were dismissed, giving them time to switch the classrooms and amphitheaters in accordance to schedule. The day was not heavy just for Natsu… there is one more who was just as confused.

"Spill it." Voice followed Lucy, not giving her a single millimeter of space.

"Levy, I told you this already…"

"Oh you did but I want what you didn't tell me. Details." Small bluenette pressed, revealing her nature that was akin to an old pervert, fishing for any juicy bit of information "What was he like? Did he press you against the wall? Did you jump into his arms? Maybe it was like a compromise and you two rushed toward each other, ripping off the clothes-"

"What? No! And I came in clothed!" Lucy quickly added, speeding up her pace, desperate to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks.

"Well forgive me for having imagination." Levy grumbled watching her speed up "I think stories about him might be just a bit of an exaggeration…"

"It's n-" Lucy stopped to answer but quickly slapped her own hand against lips. It was far too late.

"And how do you know?" Levy pressed with questions, catching up to her friend. At this point and from this angle, Lucy's expression was impossible to hide and it was all Levy truly needed. From that point on, every speculation and assumption that she makes wouldn't be far from truth. In fact, she decided to do just that "Let me see if I got the story straight…"

"Levy, please…" Lucy pleaded, groaning audibly as her best friend stood before Lucy, looking straight into her eyes.

"You left me without details. How else am I going to learn about your sex life if I don't pry into it?"

"I don't have sex life…" Lucy said, realizing that it is not the best comeback.

"I know… it's depressing…" Levy added in lower voice "Buuuut it doesn't mean that it's not on the table."

"It's not." Lucy quickly interjected before Levy could get another idea "Look… it happened… I don't know it could be a spur of a moment. We talked, he apologized… in his own way… and he managed to surprise me."

"Is that it?" Levy asked, still keeping her skepticism and showing it in voice "Tell me the truth Lu or I swear I will write 'Lucy kissed Natsu' on every Facebook, Twitter and every other social media I find on the internet. Even those obscure ones."

This was usually the part where Lucy would protest, do anything that Levy wants to stop her from her usually harmless threats. Levy always knew what line she can cross and what lines were off limits. This wasn't one such limit where crossing would make things uncomfortable, it was one that she could exploit to get much desired information. It was yet another one of vicious cycles… in order to preserve her low-exposure, Lucy would usually abide by Levy's demands. Problem was… she wasn't protesting.

In confusion, Levy just stared at Lucy who was still red, biting her thumb to a point where it became almost white from the lack of blood in it. Fortunately, clock in Levy's head works fast and soon it started ringing after she realized what actually went on.

"No!" Levy practically shouted, turning her confusion into euphoria.

"Look it was just a moment and it was nothing!"

"You kissed him?!"

"No! He ki-" Lucy responded in equally loud tone but she quickly realized that it was attention she doesn't want. She pulled Levy away from path toward the window, lowering her voice as she answered "He kissed me…"

"I know that." Levy added with frown "What I meant was, when he kissed you, did you kiss him back?"

Lucy was silent. Her lips moved in every possible direction, but no words came… she wanted to say something but nothing came from it. It was more than enough for bluenette who was almost ecstatic at this point.

"Oh this is perfect!" Levy said as she smiled wide at Lucy who was still experiencing the full sensation of being in-between the rock and a hard place "I really hoped you two will hit it off, and you did!"

"We didn't hit it off! It was just one moment, it means nothing."

"It means you are not ice queen anymore." Levy added quickly.

"It doesn't change the fact that nothing will come from it. You know as well as I do that it is a terrible idea to start anything now."

"Oh I know." Levy agreed "It is bad idea. Horrible idea."

"So why are you all happy?"

"Because you need few bad choices to shake you away from your comfort spot."

"What happened to you agreeing that I shouldn't jump in bed with him?"

"Oooh don't get me wrong Lu, jumping in bed with him is horrible idea that you really don't need right. All I am saying is that you need to add a bit of 'unknown' into your life and lean on someone who can support your weight."

"I don't know…" Lucy responded, reluctant to accept Levy's words. She wasn't wrong per se, but it all seemed all too familiar…

"I worry about your sanity most. All you do is study, work and sleep. Everything in-between is somehow related to any of the three and you are too young for me to visit you every other week and only when you are heavily medicated… Look at this as your valve. Correct me if I am wrong but I think you did not loathe spending time with him."

Silence fell between two friends. She could lie, she could say that he forced himself on her but that would only be half of the actual truth. He really did push himself closer to her but it was her who made the choice of accepting it… of accepting him.

"I did not…" Lucy responded in lower tone, shame mixed with anxiety and even a bit of pleasant feeling was involved in it.

"See?" Levy asked quite enthusiastically "He seems like not-exactly-respectable but fun guy and I bet you can grab a share of that fun and just hang out with him from time to time. And before you say anything because I know you will…" She quickly interrupted her blonde friend just as she opened her mouth to speak "Yes, this is not a good idea and yes you need this bad idea. Make some mistakes!"

Lucy realized that there is no point in arguing any longer. More she pushes, more Levy will push back and force her into a corner until she agrees. The frightening part is that she will do it metaphorically and quite literally and there are already enough rumors of them being 'too close'. Well, that was nicest of rumors about her. Air between her and Natsu is a bit more clear now but it didn't made any less uncomfortable… in fact… that one kiss created more confusion now than the moment he kissed her. All this seemed like yet another brick on Lucy's shoulders. In addition to living arrangements that was followed with numerous expenses, her daughter, college and jobs, she had to add Natsu on the agenda and even though she didn't show it… it was frightening to her. But then she remembered… words that came from Natsu himself… _boyfriend is not just a baggage, most of the time they are there to share the load_. Would it apply to a friend too? Levy was always there to help her, through thick and thin, taking the 'load' from Lucy and onto herself. Gajeel was there too… although in smaller percentage but he did help her when she needed him most. Her current job at Sabertooth is, after all, him pulling the strings. Will Natsu be the same?

She wasn't left with much of a choice to begin with. Cornered, metaphorically this time, by Levy and her big eyes that stared at her, she was left with no other choice than to place her trust in Natsu, hoping that this decision will not bite her in the ass… again. Long sigh escaped through her pink lips, giving Levy all the answers she needs from just that one hum. Her eyes looked to the side, as if she knew there would be something to see. Standing five meters from her were Natsu and Gray, focused on their own conversation. His head turned and met her gaze and every single sensation that she felt the night before suddenly flashed before her eyes once more. His lips occupied her mind completely. Lucy's eyes widened and cheeks once more received dark shade of red and just as he was about to wave, she turned around and rushed through the hall, trying to create as much distance as possible.

"Wow… look at her go…" Gray commented as he noticed Lucy walk away in haste.

"Damn…" Natsu commented. His brain automatically assumed that he once again screwed up. Perhaps that kiss was too much and now she is mad at him again.

"Well, there is only one logical explanation for this." Gray added, nodding sagely "You must be so horrible at kissing that you made poor girl experience shell shock. I mean she is probably having war-time flashbacks."

"Must you?" Natsu looked at Gray, frowning heavily at the comment which would probably make him laugh at any other point. Now… now is not that time.

"Oh come on, it's funny!"

"Yeah…" Natsu said in quiet tone as he watched into distance. The knot in his stomach suddenly disappeared and his lips curved into a big smile "This is great!"

"Come again?"

"It's what you said yesterday… if she hated me or didn't want to acknowledge my existence, she wouldn't even flinch. She would just turn her head and move on but look at her!" He pointed with both hands, extended in direction where Lucy went "Running like a vampire from garlic. She cares!"

Gray smirked at the explanation. The idiot not only remembered the talk but also managed to use it in situation "So are you gonna talk to her?"

"Yeah, after practice. She's probably working so I'll find her at sweets shop."

"If you survive that long." Gray commented begrudgingly "Don't forget coach is gonna make us pay for short round last time."

"Well…" Natsu nodded, still keeping his wide smile, looking at Gray "My day is ruined."

* * *

Much to Lucy's expectation, the rest of the day proved to be just as tedious as morning was. Six hour shift at Sweets shop as she danced between tables, adorned in pink apron and the mask of smiling girl proved to be even more tiring than before. The mask of a girl whose only goal in life is to make everyone's life sugary and covered with chocolate and sprinkles was beginning to falter. She did the only thing she knew how to… take deep breath, focus, push everything to back of her head and give her best performance.

It's over… at least for today. She left the shop and after only few steps she noticed a man, leaned against the traffic sign, tapping with hands against his outer thighs. The anxiety immediately reached new heights.

"Yo, Luce!" Natsu greeted her, pushing himself from the sign and walked over to her.

"Hey… ummm… about today…" She stuttered, trying to find right words.

"Yeah, I saw." He added "You ran like you saw the ghost of dead uncle that no one really liked but everyone tolerated because he is part of the family even though they suspect he is probably keeping few skeletons in some closed."

"That was… oddly specific. Do you have uncle like that?"

"Pfft… you kidding me? I am gonna become one." Natsu added with a chuckle and even Lucy managed to stifle a short laugh. It was a good sign "So about today…"

"I know… It's not you, it's me."

"Geez… where have I heard that excuse before?"

"I am serious." Lucy said quickly, realizing that she was trying to give an excuse to… Natsu. That part was a bit depressing "It's confusing, okay? I just need a bit of time to work it out in my head."

"But why?" Natsu asked as he took another step closer to her, making her widen her eyes "Nothing has changed between us and I mean every word that I said. I will be patient and wait until you are ready and in the meantime I really just want to be your friend."

For a moment, she was left speechless. Whatever comeback she had prepared was gone and the world-shattering anxiety has diminished. She felt as if she can put her hands down for just two seconds, lower her guard next to him. Maybe he is lying… he broke promise before but… for some reason she felt as if she can trust him this time. Friend. Yes, he said friend. "What is friendship to you, Natsu?"

"Friend?" Natsu repeated that particular word, his eyes looked up then to the right as he tried to come up with best explanation "I guess it would be a person who is there for you, who doesn't need a reason to help you. One who shows up when you need him without telling him that you need him." His words rang into her ears but instead of loud, booming sound of a bell that alerted her every sense, they were soft, calming… and then he said the magic line "A person you can lean against and know that they will support your weight, no matter what."

Small smile appeared on Lucy's face. For the first time in weeks, months, years perhaps… she was genuinely happy. Calm. As if every trouble in her world suddenly vanished and she could finally resurface to get air. She didn't say anything and in complete silence she just walked past him, taking the same route she always does when she is going home. The sound of footsteps behind her no longer scared her, no longer brought her blood pressure to points of burst. She knew that he is gonna walk with her until she reaches home and right now… she didn't mind it.

"Sooo… not gonna run away tomorrow?" Natsu asked as he caught up with her, walking side by side.

"No, I won't. In fact you can look forward to a greeting." Lucy responded calmly, still satisfied about how things managed to reach conclusion.

"We're cool?"

"Yes, we're cool." She answered.

"Oh good, for a moment I thought you were gonna fixate on the kiss." The moment he said that, her eyes widened yet again and the familiar red tint on her cheeks appeared. So close… "I was wondering… I mean, when I kissed you I could swear you kissed me back."

What was she supposed to say now? Yes? No? Truth? Lie? The moment of clarity shattered and she was once again plunged into the ocean of indecisiveness. It would be easiest, but not the best, to just tell the truth.

"I might tell you someday." Lucy teased, mustering any and all bits of her composure left in her. His eyes glanced at her, noticing her calm gaze that was fixed forward and straight line of her lips. She would've been a lot more convincing if it wasn't for her scarlet cheeks and that was all he ever needed to see.

"Alright, suit yourself. Say, how about we go see a movie this Saturday? I know what you are thinking… no it's not a date and no I am not gonna trick you and say afterward "It was a date". This is just two friends, hanging out and seeing a nice movie that I am going to sleep through."

"Can't. I have evening shift at Sabertooth." Lucy answered, making Natsu lose his smiling expression. She didn't lie "But, I am available on Sunday."

"Perfect. Sunday it is!" He confirmed as he stopped. They were at the intersection and road to his home was to the right as opposed to Lucy's which was straight "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he made the turn, walking along the sidewalk with hands in his pocket, trying his best to avoid skipping as he walked.

Lucy kept walking without looking back, without answering to his words. This has been, without a doubt, the most confusing day she ever had since the start of this semester and everything pointed out that there will be more. More confusion, more anger, more moments when she could feel the urge to strangle him right there on the spot and be rid of all the problems. The problem with this 'problem' was that if she does strangle him… she'll be left without the moments that truly colored her days. Good and bad.

Fifty meters from home, Lucy stopped walking and took a deep breath_. Good and bad_, she said to herself. _Make a mistake_. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, going through the contacts until she reached name 'Idiot'. Hesitation. Ten seconds, twenty seconds. She presses the call button and leans phone to her ear.

"_What's up? Is everything alright?_" Natsu asked over the line.

"Yes." She said.

"_Did you call to have a chat? Didn't think you'd miss me this soon._"

"No. I called you to say yes."

"_Ummm… yes to what?_"

"To your question from earlier. Yes."

And with that, the call has ended.


	28. Ghosts of past and future

**A/N: With my ever-increasing busy life, it is becoming a tad bit of a challenge to keep everything up to date. With that being said, in spare time I've started rewriting old chapters, correcting mistakes and filling in few plot holes that I haven't explained. Hopefully it will be less confusing. As always, thank you all for your continuous support and I'd like to hear your opinions on the chapter.**

* * *

"Can you feel it, Gray?" Natsu asked after he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of gym in which he and Gray just walked into. The content on his face was impossible to hide as he looked around.

"Sweat?" Gray asked, giving Natsu a glance before making way toward locker-room. Pinkette followed, observing those who are present and to their fortune, there wasn't crowd.

"No. Well yeah, sweat but not just sweat. It's the smell of bodies being molded into perfection.

"I almost forgot that this is your favorite place." Gray added with a smirk on face "Probably picked girls here too. Have you?" He asked but instead of answer he just received a glance from Natsu, one he knew all too well "Look who I'm talking to… Of course you did. You are either hyped about something or you had too much coffee today."

"Nothing like that." Natsu added, opening his bag and pulling out tank top and shorts from it, preparing to change "I just had great week. Things are finally looking up and we finally get to spend some quality time."

"You and Lucy?" Gray asked, already half-way removing his clothes.

"Nah, you and me." Pinkette added, much to Gray's surprise "Come on, ever since this ordeal began we didn't had much time to hang out. I can't believe I am saying this but I do kinda miss it."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or worried." Chuckle escaped from Gray "Well I don't know what to tell you man… Balancing studies, relationship and preparations for games doesn't give much time for free activities." Natsu wasn't all that content with what he was hearing but still knew to keep positive attitude "We gotta start thinking about future."

"Yeah I'll start thinking about it tomorrow." Natsu mumbled begrudgingly. Regardless of much he complained, he understood Gray's point of view. Months fly by fast and they will graduate at one point. Difficult choices, responsibilities, plans, all of it will eventually come forth. For Natsu it was set in stone… do his best and become the best in football but Gray was wavering, tilting from the path they have set when they joined Fairy Tail. If it was just one month ago, he would probably punch Gray in face for breaking the old promise but as time passed, as he met certain blonde, he began reevaluating his views. It wouldn't end their friendship but it would most certainly create many obstacles. Still, Natsu kept his eyes fixed on future in professional sport. If tomorrow will bring changes then today is the day he needs to squeeze out as much as possible. This moment, when even Gray needed a bit of time away from Juvia, was one of such times. He sensed old rivalry is about to be awakened and a juvenile competition of who can lift more will begin.

"Come on." Gray said as he finished changing and opened doors of the locker-room. The smirk on his face instantly vanished and he quickly closed doors, looking at Natsu wide-eyed, pale as death itself.

"Dude?" Natsu asked, confused about Gray's sudden appearance akin to a man who just saw a ghost. Instead of answer Gray just moved slowly moved his hands, motioning on himself, trying to mimic something that should resemble a giant with large arms and jaw that shark would be envious of. It was all that Natsu needed and now he began losing color on his face.

"Dragneel! Fullbuster!" Deep, bellowing voice echoed in hallway, calling for the pair. All hopes of them being unseen have been sunk in matter of second.

"Fuck… He saw us…" Gray added in defeated voice, bowing his head forward.

"How?"

"Hell if I know… This is going to be nightmare…"

"Oy! Don't make me call for you twice!" Once more Elfman called and pair left locker-room, trying their absolute best to appear _pleasantly_ surprised to see their coach in gym "I see you two are early on weekend workout. Good good." He remarked with a nod. True to his position, he was relentless in their training, pushing them to their absolute limits even during warm-ups, knowing that they could take it. Truth be told, though both of them came for exercise, they hoped for this to be less stressful day… that hope has also been drowned, violently.

"Coach?" Natsu asked as he took five minutes to rest, mercifully allowed by the _gentle_ titan "I was wondering… what are you doing here?"

"What the hell are you on about, boy?" Elfman asked, monitoring Gray as he was lifting weights "How do you expect for me to be a physical education professor and a coach of a football team if I don't lead by an example?"

"No not that… It's just that… well…"

"Spill it out boy." Elfman shot, grabbing the weight that Gray was now struggling to push. What needed Gray two hands to accomplish even while rested, Elfman lifted with just one arm, effortlessly.

"Well, it's just that we all thought you have your own gym at home… plus we never actually saw you in gym."

Elfman shot a terrifying stare toward pinkette. If it lasted for few more seconds, Natsu was sure he might pee a little in his pants. There was a great reason for both of them to fear Coach Strauss and not just because of his immense strength. Strict but just, he commanded great respect among his students and professors alike and despite somewhat unorthodox tactics he implemented, they were there for a reason and all players that were on his team, trusted him implicitly. If look could kill, Natsu should've been dead and buried by now.

Giant took a deep breath and slowly exhaled… in thin, defeated tone he answered "It's gone."

"Gone?" Gray asked curiously, sitting up on bench.

"Evergreen wants room remodeled into kids room…"

"Wow… congratulations." Natsu added, not knowing how to react, still treading on unfamiliar territory "Is professor…"

"No, she's not." Elfman added quickly "But we are working on- Wait why am I telling you two this? Back to work!"

"Sorry coach, urgency." Gray cut in, standing up from bench and heading over to bathroom, leaving Natsu alone with coach who was still mourning loss of his precious space in only way he could; loud grumble.

"That reminds me." Elfman ended his moment of lament, crossing his large arms and looking toward pinkette "Next game is against Phantom Lord, make sure you're ready for it."

"Aye sir!" Natsu responded with a grin.

"It ain't just about the win." Elfman added, face slightly disfiguring as he rubbed his neck "Scouts will be there to check out talents. I got in touch with few friends and I know for certain that scouts from Tartaros will be there."

"Really?" Natsu asked, shifting on his seat. Hands gripped the wooden surface and eyes widened in disbelief "Champions are gonna watch me? You mean there's a chance I can be scouted for _the_ Tartaros?"

"They will be watching the game." Elfman corrected Natsu's train of thoughts "I can't say whether or not they will be fixated on you but they will be looking out young talents they can invest in and it's my job to present you boys in best light."

"Wow umm…"

"Hey, you ain't signing contract yet. Reason why I'm telling you this is because I know how you play, I know you are good making snap decisions but for them, if you wanna have a chance to be noticed, you gotta play by the book. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Natsu nodded, soaking up every bit of information that Elfman was dishing out his way.

"You'll notice that they prefer textbook execution… it might be their version of textbook but they like everything to be done precisely. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Natsu confirmed again.

"One more thing…" Elfman said, rubbing his chin. Natsu noticed slight hesitation in his coach but waited patiently "I know you are serious about it and playing for professional league… if you, by some chance, don't get scouted, I want you to consider staying at Fairy Tail."

"I am not sure I understand… Stay at University?"

"Look, you are talented kid. I've seen you play, I've seen you pull your team with you. Not many can do that and it takes great amount of confidence in yourself and confidence of your teammates in you to follow you on field. It's a talent that is not often seen and I'd like for you to stay at Fairy Tail after graduation. Take extra year of study for masters degree and become assistant."

"You mean to… train students like you?" Natsu asked. The disappointment on his face was becoming evident. It wasn't an offer he was looking for and the overall hype of hearing that scouts from Tartaros will be watching the game was slowly diminishing. He trusted coach, he trusted his judgment and now he wanted to pull him away from professional career and place in the office, only to guide others toward their own path of fame. Despite this, Natsu knew that this was also one in a lifetime offer… it would open doors to always be on the field in one form or another but it will hinder, if not completely stop his progression to become professional player.

"I ain't saying that you have to do it." Coach said, noticing the struggle that Natsu was having, though it wasn't between two choices. Elfman knew that it was struggle on how to say no without invoking giant's wrath "It's just an offer which you don't have to take. All I ask is for you to give it a lil' thought."

"Right… Okay, thank you coach." Pinkette responded, taking a small sigh of relief.

* * *

"Son of a…" Gray said in low, grumbling voice as he moved shoulders back and forth. The long and merciless torture has ended with call on Elfman's cellphone and after he left, neither of them had any strength to continue working out. One hour… that is how long they were at gym and it felt as if they were there entire day "He is a slave-driver. I have no other description for that man. What's your plan for today?"

"Well, it's Saturday." Natsu added, looking around as they left gym "It'll be long, long sleep for me. Shower first, sleep after."

"Not my place to judge wise words." Gray jested, tapping his friend on shoulder before walking away. They parted without many words exchanged, probably for the best since neither had any strength to continue pondering on the future. Natsu, with what energy he had left after the exhausting treatment, decided to take a longer way home, give himself a bit more time to consider the offer that was presented before him. Larger part of him wanted to continue his current path, to reach up to the very top and live life that he planned. Every time fast car would pass by, he would turn to look, constantly reminding himself '_That could be me. That will be me._' His mind was set on it.

By chance or by a greater plan, the longer walk led him to a place he didn't plan to visit but once he saw truck parked in front, it was hard not to take a look. Sabertooth, although technically worked all day, never had many customers early during the day. It was expected, considering that it proudly wore title of nightclub. Those times, when traffic in club is rare and slow, Sting and Rogue used to handle their inventory. As Natsu drew closer, it looked exactly like that. Two men wearing uniforms were carrying boxes while Sting kept his eyes peeled at his clipboard, calculating everything down to the last jewel.

"Do you ever rest?" Natsu asked, tapping Sting on the shoulder and said blonde quickly looked up, turning around only to spot pinkette standing behind him. Wide smile immediately appeared on Sting's face.

"Ain't no rest for the wicked." He replied "Inventory check, stocking up for big event."

"Big event? How come I don't know about it?"

"Well it could be because you stopped visiting after you got yourself a girlfriend."

"I haven't gotten myself a girlfriend." Natsu added, narrowing his eyes at the remark which didn't seem to be a joke.

"No? So… Lucy is available?"

"She is not." Quick reply came, sounding more like a dog warning not to approach territory.

"Jeez, relax man, I was just joking." Sting replied with a laugh "Don't worry, we're keeping your friend safe. She's actually becoming quite an attraction among the customers. Not even sure I should be handing her these…"

"Oh yeah… what are these?" Natsu asked, picking up a sample from one of the boxes. It was a mask, very much like old baroque masks with a strap to keep it on face. The one he picked, though made out of plastic, was still quite ornate. Black basis with golden painted edges.

"That is for tonight's big event." Sting replied quite happily, proceeding to explain "I don't have to see Jiemma's ugly face ever again, all of our financial issues have been resolved and we are celebrating with a party under masks. Free sample for everyone who pays entrance. It's a gig… we're trying to see how well people respond to some unusual and bold ideas and once or twice per month we are gonna change it, do something new, give people reason to come and have quality experience."

"Wow, that actually sounds great." Pinkette added with a grin "And everyone's gonna be wearing these? Waitresses included?"

"Nope, actually… They will be wearing these…" Blonde said and pulled out well packed costume which Natsu inspected. From what he saw on the image of package, it was a cat uniform, skimpy with satin gloves reaching up to elbows. The uniform was more than revealing with furry patches on it. One thing that caught Natsu's attention was the headpiece which was kitty ears. Wide smile slowly crept up on his face.

"Isn't it a bit out of place?"

"Maybe but who cares?" Sting quickly replied, taking package that Natsu returned and stored it back into box "Ever since we put restriction on touching our waitresses, people have been itching to do it. This way it'll be just more of a tease and that means they have to come again and see our beauties-"

"When is Lucy working today?"

"Let me see…" Blonde mumbled as he turned page on the clipboard, looking for the staff schedule "Evening shift so six till midnight."

"Save me a spot for tonight, ok?" Natsu said, tapping Sting once more upon shoulder before running off, leaving said man to look with confusion in direction which Natsu ran off. They've known each other for a while now, he didn't exactly need to be mentioned in the guest list but still he humored the request and added Natsu's name at the bottom.

* * *

"I am not wearing this…" Lucy said as she looked upon the package with horror.

"Look, I was told t'deliver it to ya and that's what I did." Gajeel added, making himself comfortable on Lucy's sofa "I didn't pick it."

"Isn't this a Halloween costume?" She asked. With every second passed, more insecure she felt, approaching the edge of absolute horror.

"Why don't you try it first and then complain." Levy said, watching Lucy with great interest and mischievous grin on her face "It's not like you have much of a choice so… better get used to it now."

"I know I know…" Lucy surrendered, dragging herself up the stairs and into her room to put her new _uniform_ on. Five minutes later, she was out and downstairs, presenting herself before Gajeel and Levy. Much to their surprise, the uniform looked as if it was made especially for Lucy; white skirt with furry edges, top that only barely reached under her bosom and long satin gloves. To say that she was embarrassed by her own appearance was a severe understatement. "Just kill me…"

"Look I ain't tha' big judge of a look…" Gajeel started as he looked at Lucy up and down. His left hand reached up and scratched his chin "And with riskin' to be mauled by a midget, I'm gonna say ya look pretty hot in it."

"The big log speaks truth." Levy added, jabbing her elbow into Gajeel's ribs, making him let out a loud groan "I mean if I have the urge to rip it off from you, think about what will Pinky do."

"Will you stop calling him Pinky?"

"Will you stop treating him like a friend?" Levy quickly retorted to Lucy's half-hearted plea.

"He is _just_ a friend. Nothing more." Blonde quickly said, taking off kitty ears from her hair. She wanted to believe that but this week was more than she could handle. True to her promise, Lucy was actually responding to all of his greets at university. In fact, that fear and disgust she had every time he spoke was gone, replaced by a concoction of unknown feelings that threatened to overwhelm her. Much to her surprise… he was being considerate. Kept his distance when needed, nagged when she felt down and managed to pick her up and set her on path again. For the first time, she felt that she actually enjoys his company. That may not have been a new feeling for her but she remembered that allowing him near meant putting her guard down. But there was more than that.

Lucy wanted to believe. She was desperate to believe that Natsu is nothing more than a friend, but every time she mentioned word 'friend' her feelings stirred. It's not a new feeling, no… she felt like this before and she knew well where it leads. Problem was that back then she wanted to surrender to that unique feeling and now… now she didn't know how to shut herself out. Levy was not oblivious to this… she is far too intelligent person to miss the signs along the road. She was observant, watching carefully Lucy's change of behavior every time Natsu was mentioned. At first, she felt disgusted, revolted by the very thought of him but now… now every time she hears name, her face brightens just a little bit. Her conversations with him also changed. She no longer kept her distance, instead, her body almost always was turned toward him and every stupid joke he made was followed by her giggle. Levy knew well what all of that meant and for this entire week, she pushed Lucy forward.

"Sure, whatever you say." Levy said, still keeping her smirk on face. Blonde may lie to herself but Levy knew her better than that "Soooo… have you considered what you'll wear tomorrow?"

"What's tomorrow?" Lucy asked, confused by the question but at the same time fearful of what will come from her friend's mouth. Gajeel seemed to have been less interested in the topic and kept himself silent for the time being.

"Your first date since new age began. If I may recommend, wear something casual but inviting."

"It's not a date." Lucy corrected her through gritted teeth "It's just… two friends going out to see a movie."

"Sunday. Watching a movie. In a chick flick season."

"Hey, tha' is what we did last weekend." Gajeel suddenly interjected, poking Levy's cheek "Sorry bunny, I'm with shrimp on this one… it sounds like a date."

"Why are you two doing this to me?"

"What? Helping you get some quality time with a cute guy who seems genuinely interested in you even after he saw what mess you are? Geez what terrible thing to do." Levy added sarcastically, keeping her grin up and visible "You need to get ready and get going." She quickly added, interrupting Lucy from starting a sentence, even though she was preparing to argue the point Gajeel made "Trust me, you don't have to convince us, we already know. It's you who needs convincing. I am not saying jump on him, although if you do I expect details, but at least consider."

Lucy wasn't left with much choice to begin with. She indeed needed to get ready for work and if there is one thing that comforted her was the fact that events like this meant that her tip might be considerable. It will, without a doubt, help with paying utilities for this month. Nothing else to do but to smile, be polite and soldier through. She was already briefed on the 'event' that was happening at Sabertooth and knew exactly what to expect. As soon as she entered, there were masks everywhere. Every patron, men and women, wore masks. From third perspective, it looked like a fancy renaissance party in modern suits and music but from Lucy's point of view it was actually comforting. She felt detached from the crowd having only small interactions when she took orders and delivered drinks. An invisible barrier that kept her raging insecurities in check. She took a deep breath and proceeded to change into her new uniform.

Hours passed by and customers lined up. One after another, she served them with a smile and a soft voice, slipping among the crowd in a revealing uniform that she knew everyone noticed but no one dared to touch. This was working, it was tiring but it was working and she even managed to accept compliments on her looks rather than to frown upon them and glance at the patron with hidden disgust.

"Excuse me, miss." Deep voice came from behind her, no doubt belonging to a customer.

Lucy turned around and offered a bright smile toward customer, keeping her hands behind her to look as appealing as possible. "What can I get you ton-"

Her voice was interrupted and she stood silent, surprised by a sudden and brief flash that blinded her for a short second. Quickly, she closed her eyes, readjusting her vision before opening them again, unsure what to think of situation.

"I got everything I need." Customer said chuckling, lifting his mask up and revealing his face "Now I have new wallpaper for my phone."

"Natsu… delete that…" Lucy said, keeping smiling face and clenched jaw.

"Sorry, Luce… there is no force in this world that'll make me do that. See this?" He said, turning phone, showing the picture he took with his phone "This is not something I can replicate so this is a unique opportunity where I get to do it and you can't immediately bludgeon me to death."

"Why are you even here?" She quickly snapped from her rising rage.

"Umm… I am a customer? Come on Luce, you've seen me come here before." Natsu replied, placing his mask on face again "I promise that I will only use this for myself, two times per day on weekend, maybe on holidays and always in strict privacy."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lucy groaned loud, lifting her hand to cover her face. She only now realized that she is almost half-naked in front of him. In fact… majority of her body was exposed, covering only critical areas. For the first time, she actually felt truly embarrassed to look like this in front of him, not counting Laxus's party.

"Like you wouldn't do the same." Natsu said, pulling phone away before Lucy could snatch it away from him "I mean, imagine me, standing in a cute uniform with those fluffy ears on top my head. You wouldn't take a shot of my glorious body?"

"Honestly I would have way too many questions before I even start wondering about your body." Lucy added, lowering her hand. Mental image of Natsu in pink, fluffy cat uniform going 'meow' did manage to make her grin. She was glad that she had to smile so she wouldn't have to cover herself.

"Fine, while you are wondering about it, I will have beer and can you please deliver it over there?" He nodded to the side, pointing toward corner of the club where Sting and Rogue were sitting. That was something she couldn't refuse. As she delivered beer, she felt a strange déjà vu. It was like this first time he saw her at the club… cocky grin, daring request for a hefty tip. Now… he still provided more than his drink actually cost but instead of an innuendo, he simply thanked her and let her continue with her work. If he asked again… large tip for a kiss… would she respond? Would she just find a hole in the rule just to take much needed money? As she walked away a thought rushed through her mind… that evening, when he kissed her… when she involuntarily kissed him back… Would she do that now? In front of everyone? Her cheeks quickly received crimson red color and she wished to have one of those masks. Her name was called and she turned…

"The event is a success." Rogue said, releasing a big sigh of relief as he watched crowd at the center of club. "It's not even midnight and it's already packed."

"I thought there would be more." Natsu added, placing down his glass on table.

"See all of them?" Sting interjected, pointing at the crowd "Those are good boys and girls. They come early, get some fun, vent out the stress and go home. Heavy hitters come after midnight. Party animals, rebels, misfits… they live club life, it's their drug, their fix. Saturday night with one free drink and chance to approach anyone under mask… this is their golden zone and they will remember us."

"I gotta say, I am impressed." Natsu said with a grin, removing his mask from face, moving hands through hair "You thought this through."

"Every competition that rises has to follow our tempo or drop out of the game. We are setting the pace." Rogue added, observing crowd carefully. His eyes landed upon a towering man that was the security of club. Orga was vigilant, ensuring that nothing happens without him missing it. There was still risk of patrons trying to score just a bit more than they should with waitresses and he ensured such a thing never comes to pass. "Now, all we need to-"

"Hold that thought." Natsu said and stood up from his seat, making way toward crowd, leaving owners perplexed at his sudden rush.

"Why are you being stubborn about this?"

"I am not stubborn." Lucy said, clenching her jaw "I am not having this conversation anymore so if you will excuse me I need to work."

"You call this work?" Man said, grabbing Lucy's arm just above her elbow, making her wince at the closeness. "Look, I just want to set things back straight."

"Don't you think it's a bit late for that?" Lucy responded angrily, trying to free herself from man's grip but without much of a success "Now let me go."

"Let's just talk about it-"

"Oy!" Natsu suddenly appeared, grabbing man's wrist and clenching it "Back off."

"Who the fuck are you?" Man asked looking up and down at Natsu. They were equal in size Natsu's wild, pink hair managed to add to Natsu's height and attempts to intimidate his opponent, even though he still wore small blue mask over his eyes.

"He's…"

"I'm her friend." Natsu said, interrupting Lucy's words, maintaining fiery gaze with man "And I'm going to break your arm unless you let her go."

"Now you have bodyguards?" He asked with a snort, releasing her arm and in doing so, she quickly retreated a step back, allowing for Natsu to stand in-between them.

"Yeah." Natsu replied, even though question wasn't directed to him "I'm her mad dog who bites first and barks after."

"Is there a problem?" Orga asked, managing to appear out of nowhere. Man looked up and after short evaluation that he is both outnumbered and outclassed; he pulled hand out of Natsu's grasp.

"Nah, we're good. Just a misunderstanding." He took one more glance at Natsu before leaving.

"You okay, Luce?" Natsu asked, now he was having a sense of déjà vu.

"Yeah… umm… it's fine." She replied, clearly shaken by the event.

"When do you finish?"

"Half hour, give or take a few."

"Alright, I'll wait you. Not gonna let you walk alone home with that creep lurking."

"Right… thanks…" Lucy responded, offering a brief smile before taking another deep breath, finding her strength to return to work. Among the sea of masks, she once again had to wear the heaviest of them all, pretending that she is happy. Though she kept herself focused on every task at hand, she still managed to throw a glance around the room, trying to find Natsu in it. Somehow… she always managed to find him and that gave her just a little bit of relief. This wasn't first time he saved her. He was starting to look more like guardian angel.

Quickly, she shook her head, contributing the sudden rush of her heart to the music rather than the thought of him watching over her. _Snap out of it!_ She told herself and continued. There was always next customer. Last half hour of here work were spent like that, continuously telling herself to snap back into reality and focus on her work… if only it worked.

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"Ready to go?" Natsu asked as Lucy left Sabertooth, holding bag into her hand. With slight hesitation, she nodded and quickly followed him "So… what was that about?"

"What?" She asked, still recovering from the loud music and the rush.

"That guy. You know him?"

"Yeah, kind of…" She replied. Now it was Natsu's time to feel slightly uncomfortable as he seems to have managed to hit the nerve.

"One of your ex-boyfriends?" He asked, curious but at the same time anxious about her answer.

"No… yes… kind of."

"Kind of?"

Lucy took a short pause, swallowing heavy rock that was stuck in her throat. Knot in her stomach began to tighten once again "He's…" She started but took another pause, taking a deep breath "That's Sean. He's Michele's father and he was asking me to… resume where we broke off…"

"Wow… umm… So what did you tell him?"

"I didn't. You kind of got inbetween before I could reply."

"Guess I should've stayed back." Natsu replied with chuckle, trying his best to hide the uncomfortable feeling that he was having.

"No, I'm glad you did." Lucy added, looking down at the ground as they were walking.

"Are you thinking of resuming relationship?" Natsu asked. His hands, despite his unusually high blood circulation that made them always warm, now started to be cold as he waited for answer.

"No. I don't know…" She added after taking a deep breath "I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything and it'll only become more difficult as Michelle grows up. I need to have a stable job by then but if I don't… everything will become more complicated and… to be honest, I am not sure if I can handle this by myself."

"Hold there." Natus said in louder tone, standing in front of her, making them both stop "That is the guy who literally abandoned you when you needed him most. There wasn't even a moment of second-guessing in him, was there?"

"No…" Lucy replied sourly, remembering that day as if it was yesterday "Michelle still needs her father…"

"No, she needs her mother. Father left her long before she was even born and trust me on this…" He said, placing hands on her shoulders. "Look at me" Her eyes looked up toward him "You got this. You handled it perfectly up until now and you'll handle it from now on."

"And if I can't?"

"Then we'll pick you up and set you straight." He answered, showing a smile, hoping that it will comfort her just a little bit "You got friends, you got me… whatever I am… I'll help as much as I can."

The weight of the word was slipping down from her shoulders… whatever Natsu did, it managed to produce some effect and she already felt slightly relieved. Future suddenly felt less frightening and she felt just a little bit more relaxed knowing that in all this chaos and rush, she wasn't completely alone. No, she was actually grateful to have someone who will remind her to move forward, for her daughter's sake and for hers as well. That face used to belong to Levy but now… now it changed. Blue turned pink.

"I should probably stop doing this." Natsu commented with a smirk as they arrived in front of Lucy's house "Better not make a habit of escorting you home every night… might actually get some ideas."

"No, I'm glad you did…" Lucy added "I think I would've been terrified of walking back from Sabertooth."

"Are you afraid of him?" He asked, looking over at blonde.

"It's not fear. He'd probably still follow me and refuse to leave until we talk and… well he knows how to touch my every nerve and I would probably make some stupid decision. You two aren't all that different… he can be very convincing."

"So I've been told" Natsu confirmed, although now he didn't know how to take this comparison, especially since it was Lucy who made it and not Levy or Loke "Well if you have troubles with him, let me know. Ok?"

"You are not gonna drop this are you?"

"Nope. Sorry, made a promise." Natsu chuckled "Right ummmm… I should get going before I make things awkward. So I'll see you tom-"

His sentence was suddenly cut short… his eyes widened and the sudden cold rush ran down on his spine, reaching to every nerve he had in body. Five seconds… that is how long it all lasted. It took him first two to snap back from the initial shock, just enough time for Lucy to pull herself away from him and for their lips to part. Other two seconds were spend by looking at her and her blushing cheeks and last one… last one, that lasted longest than previous four, was spent realizing that she just kissed him.

"Don't overthink it. I am just thanking you for saving me from mountain of trouble… and returning the favor." Lucy said in soft, thin voice. She wasn't sure how he will react but to greatest of surprises, he looked like it was his very first kiss.

"Yeah… ummm…" He stuttered, pressing his lips hard one against another "No sweat. I'll see you tomorrow."

She watched him leave, more confused than she was. He wasn't looking back, he wasn't stopping… he just moved along. What she didn't know was that every fiber in his body was screaming, every alarm was ringing. Odd thing was… Lucy was hoping he would come back. But he didn't. It was for the best for if he did, she might've done something even more stupid. With a small smile she walked back inside, only to be greeted by a pair of eyes, belonging to a peculiar, short person and all she said was "I knew it."


	29. A memory long since forgotten

**A/N: First of all, I wish you all a happy new year and may all your resolutions and promises come true. I hope that this year I will meet your expectations and earn your trust once more. One of my wishes is to be a bit more active and see this story reach its conclusion. I have am bringing you one that doesn't place progress in our beloved couple but it is not just another filler. This chapter I planned to have much much sooner but I ended up placing it on hold until I found it right to be published. However, this is one of the keystones of the story as it helps develop one of my character and puts another one as main character for this chapter. I hope you like it and let me know what you think.**

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The very same evening promised naught but turmoil that inevitably led to yet another one in line of many sleepless nights for Natsu. For the most part during his way home after escorting Lucy to hers, he was calm, filled with the silence that hid the great storm brewing in his head. Only when he reached park did it hit him and in the momentary raise of adrenaline, he found himself in desperate need to sit down, lest he falls down. It was just a kiss, but not his, no… it was hers. It was everything he tried so desperately to achieve only to be given in a moment when he was least expecting it. His ears were burning, his cheeks taking the gentle tone of scarlet and his very skin itched. If he could, he would rip it apart and escape, shouting from the very bottom of his lungs. Just five seconds… it was all there was. A single kiss that lasted five seconds, three of which he barely remembers. The way back home will prove to be a task worthy of Hercules himself.

For once, he was truly glad no one was awake by the time he arrived home. It was nothing unusual and Igneel has stopped asking questions long time ago. Knowing his own son, knowing the 'activities' he indulged himself in, every question would inevitably lead to a lie… but that wasn't the reason why Natsu was happy to arrive to silent house. No. It was due to the fact that if anyone would ask where he was, the chances of him saying the truth would be high. With a sigh of relief, he dragged himself into bed, staring up at ceiling wide eyed and waiting for the first yawn that would lead him to sleep. Alas, none came and he was left alone with his thoughts. For thousand times he rolled same scenario over and over, reliving that one memory that gave him no peace. How many girls did he have? How many succumbed to his charm that screamed 'bad boy'? One? Two? Ten? More? How many moaned into pillows with his lips pressed upon soft skin of neck? Many. It was not a secret and Natsu never truly wished it to be one. Like majestic peacock, he flaunted with his accomplishments like they were beautiful feathers, ascertaining his dominance among men and sparking interest in women. Innocence was not his trait.

And yet, he felt like a boy from elementary school who kissed girl for the first time. It wasn't even first kiss with Lucy… It is not even first kiss on her lips. Was it really because she kissed him? He played that memory once more… trying to remember every single detail of it. Her lips were soft… the gloss on them had the thin taste of strawberries and the perfume of her skin was anything but gentle. Robust… yes… that is best way he could describe it. Strong, feminine, mixed with the natural scent of her skin and the soap she used for bathing… a mixture that invaded his nose. And then… then there were her eyes… big and brown like two chestnuts that despite everything that happened that evening, despite everything that happened in her life, still looked at him with untainted purity.

His hand lightly reached up and touched lower lip, gently tugging it down. Despite all that he witnessed, he still had trouble believing that it happened. At any point he expected to wake up, to push this into back of his head as a wishful moment. Slowly he sat up, leaning against bedpost and looking out through his window. A smirk appeared on his face, realizing that he has been defeated… completely and utterly defeated by a single girl who in just five seconds managed to do what none other did so far… And he has laterally been inside of all of them. Well… all but one. _How can I screw this up?_ He asked himself with a grin. If history is of any indication, it was only matter of time before he manages to do something incredibly stupid. _Oh wait, I already did that._ He let out a silent chuckle, eyes still fixated outside, watching clear sky filled with stars. Of all the girls in college, in Magnolia, in Fiore… of all the girls that actually gave themselves willingly to him, knowing fully well who he is and what he does, he chose one girl he knew well would bring troubles in his life. He clearly promised friendship and support but deep down he knew well where it is going. It was not secret; he announced his intentions quite well and without any room for interpretation.

Were there really no other options? Was this inevitable conclusion to a countless decisions made prior to this point? Cause and effect? Was this something he could have avoided? Of course he could; of course he could've dropped everything and be with girl that said yes, rather than playing ice princess. Fairy Tail is not exactly a place populated with empty-headed girls whose sole reason for being here was to enter some sorority or club and sleep their way toward diploma. While there were always those, Fairy Tail, in fact, attracted those young people who had vision for their future… chances of meeting someone smart were high… So how come it was Lucy that bumped into him? If he wasn't late that day… would any of this happen?

As time passed he realized that he is glad it happened the way it did, even if it wasn't the best course of action. If he pursues Lucy, if he aims relationship with her, there will be issues. Issues with time, issues with constant interference from unpredictable occurrences that will damper their progress and the very fact that what little free time she has, she will dedicate it to her studies and daughter. At the end of day… if he receives 2% of her time, it will be a miracle. It will be one very complicated relationship. Hard fact was, he will get a lot more attention from any other girl; some will dedicate 100% of their time to be with him. After graduating, they will be around, following Natsu's climb to the very top. But… they are not Lucy. All she needed from him… was a person she can lean against, someone who will be there to give her a moment of rest before the entire ordeal starts again. He promised that, he promised that he will lift her from the ground when she falls, he promised to be patient and wait until the time she is ready but it was now clear as day that waiting will be filled with anguish. That one kiss changed everything. He laughed, lifting his hands up and holdings his face… he laughed in his palms at the realization that millions of other girls cannot fill the space that Lucy did create with just five seconds. It was now beyond doubt, beyond any possibility to deny… He was sure of it, as sure as he was that his name is Natsu Dragneel. He was sure…

He is in love…

That night, he didn't sleep. Instead, he patiently waited for everyone to wake up before he will leave his room. As of late, Igneel caught up on this trend, and even though he suspected there was something wrong, he didn't want to pry into it. Knowing his son, there wasn't much he will be able to find out unless Natsu decides to tell on his own. Truth be told, Natsu was itching to actually talk with his father about some things but he had slight issues initiating conversation on that topic. One particular message managed to give him a bit of courage. Due to unpredictable circumstances, Lucy had to cancel their 'movie night' that she agreed upon. The only thing Natsu could say to this was "Oh thank God…" It was first time he was truly happy to not go out. He wouldn't know what to do.

"Dad, you got a minute?" He asked as he entered his father's work-room, closing doors behind him. Igneel seemed to be consumed in daily work but that could wait. He glanced over to Natsu, slightly surprised at choice of words. It wasn't new for Natsu but that particular order of those words meant that something was happening to Natsu. "Of course. What seems to be the issue?"

"It's not an issue, no need to assume that." Natsu quickly defended himself but only managed to fuel already growing spark of interest in Igneel.

"Well…" Man said, placing down his pen and removing glasses from his face "You don't exactly come, bearing those words unless there is something you need." Igneel smiled as he watched Natsu approach and sit down on a chair.

"I am working on it." Natsu replied, returning a grin that soon vanished as he remembered reason why he came "How hard was it to raise me?"

"Oh? We are back on that topic?" Igneel asked, lightly raising his brows. No answer came but it was enough for man to gather all he needs from the silence. Natsu rarely spoke about it… it was as if he purposely wanted to forget that part of life and any mention of period with his mother was met with a deep frown. Igneel knew why. That period has left its mark and Natsu did all he could to not be reminded of it but his father knew that one day he will need closure. His eyes briefly fell down on the desk papers lied unfinished. He loathed leaving job unfinished but this time he gladly put it aside, just for chance to speak about things that he knew were coming.

"You were not difficult child. Complicated? Yes… mischievous, sometimes absent-minded, often hot-headed, incredibly stubborn but not difficult. Your mother, may she rest in peace… she was the one with the plan." Igneel took a short pause, enough to lean back on his chair and cross arms. His gaze was focused up in some unidentifiable point between wall and ceiling as memories rushed before eyes "She never panicked. From the first day we suspected she was pregnant to the point of your birth… she had everything under control. Me? I was just there for a ride."

"You weren't there with her?" Natsu asked.

"No, I was, but your mother was the one who held reins. She had everything planned out. What house should we buy, how often to visit doctor, what hospital to go in for labour, school that you'd get in. There was always incredible enthusiasm coming from her whenever she talked about it. I was just nodding my head. Don't get me wrong, I was overjoyed but… everything took me as a surprise. Life just slapped me across the face and brought the reality with it. I always had a plan for future but in that one moment, everything felt too real and I had to think about tomorrow. I just graduated I had to find job as quickly as possible. Fortunately, your grandfather pulled some strings and his friend accepted me as his assistant."

"When did you and mom got married?"

"Soon after. It was unconventional for someone to get pregnant before marriage so there were some hardships with your grandfather… but he couldn't deny me." He took a small paused to inhale deeply. The smirk on his eyes vanished completely "I worked hard to be man of the house, provide everything that woman needs during pregnancy. What little time I had free, I spent it with your mother. She never stopped planning, never stopped dreaming… right up until the last day."

Natsu's expression quickly turned somber. Talking about his mother was not something he liked and hearing Igneel talk with such passion quickly filled his heart with sadness and regret. Other than pictures on the wall and his dad's desk, there were few memories that Natsu had of his own mother.

"How did mom die?" Natsu asked. The growing suspicion that boiled for years needed to be released "You said she died peacefully in her sleep. What caused it?"

Igneel sighed heavily. His voice trembled lightly as he exhaled "Cancer." His lips were pressed hard and teeth bit inside. Natsu was better. Breath got stuck in throat and his fingers dug into palms as he listened. "It started sometime around your third birthday, but we didn't catch symptoms until you were four. By that time, it reached metastasis. Doctors gave her six month…"

"What about chemo?" Natsu looked up, shooting a sharp gaze straight at Igneel's eyes "Some people get better."

"Yes, they do." Igneel nodded slightly but his voice was calm and low "But it wouldn't have cured her, only extend her life for a little bit. Your mother… she refused."

"Why?" Natsu inquisited, grabbing arm-rests of chair with body leaned forward.

"Natsu, chemotherapy is poison injected in your veins. The process is painful, life-draining. She didn't want to leave this world bedridden and weak." Igneel continued, with posture leaned forward, elbows planted firmly onto the wooden board of his desk and fingers interlinked. Even Natsu could see pained face that his father had. "I wanted her to live a bit longer too but… she was adamant about it. Every night I prayed for just one more day and every morning she was there to give me strength. She had strength for both of us."

Natsu released arm-rests. His fingers were white and cold from the sheer force he put into the grip. Slowly, he leaned himself back again, running hand through his hair. He wanted to cry, he wanted to let tear out and just scream it out… but nothing came. That feeling, that he isn't sad enough to cry for his own mother, has been etched deep inside his mind and he dreaded it, loathed it with every drop of his blood… but he needed more.

"What happened after?"

Igneel sighed once again. Natsu saw well that Igneel struggled and was tempted to ask again, but instead, he chose to leave his father to filter through memories and collect himself. It wasn't easy, that much he was absolutely certain about.

"I cried. Day after day, I would go to cemetery and look at your mother's tombstone, trying to figure out what to do now. The hole she left was difficult to fill and soon, I began panicking."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't know what to do. Your mother was one who was raising you, one who looked after you from dawn until dusk but now… it was time for me to raise you all by myself and honestly… I did not know what to do at first. All I knew was to raise you the way my father raised me, and he was very strict man when it came to my behaviour. You kept crying for your mother and I did not know how to soothe your pain."

"Was it that bad?"

"For me? Horrible. I completely lost myself in everything, having job and then having to raise you. I was no longer assistant but I had small office of my own and in hopes of balancing everything, I took you to kindergarten while I was at work. Couple of months later you entered your rebellious stage."

"What did I do?" Natsu asked, intrigued by the term rebellious that Igneel mentioned.

"Nothing uncommon for children of that age. Drawing on wall, refusing food, refusing to go to kindergarten, doing exact opposite of what I told you to do. You laugh all you want now, for me it was a terrifying experience."

"So how did you handle me?" Natsu inquired, subduing his chuckle, briefly remembering drawing on the wall of living room.

"Barely is the only word that comes to mind. Fortunately, around that time a very peculiar person walked into my office."

"Let me guess…" Natsu interrupted Igneel, lifting his right index finger and then pointing at his father "Gran?"

"Yes." Man answered with a soft chuckle "Grandine was in the middle of very difficult divorce and her previous lawyer has dropped the case due to his own personal reasons. I still remember her that day… she was desperate, completely emotionally drained and just wanted it to end. Unfortunately she had little money and she hoped that our old sweetheart days would still account for something."

"So you did it for free?"

"I would've done it even if we weren't dating. Regardless of the circumstances that caused us to walk different paths, she was still my dear friend. I accepted the case."

"And you started dating again?"

"No no. I mourned your mother's death for a year as tradition dictated. That and… well… I wasn't exactly ready to be in any form of 'relationship'. But… Grandine helped me immensely by giving me advices about you."

"Do you remember any?"

"Yes, actually." Igneel paused momentarily, crossing his arms "I remember when you stopped eating just to protest against me. I called Grandine and asked her what to do. By that time she already had Wendy and I hoped that she will have some advice on how to 'handle' you. Advice she gave me was to leave food by on the table. Just when you thought I was asleep, you'd sneak out and lick entire plate clean. In the morning you said you threw it out."

Natsu let out a small chuckle, feeling tension in his stomach slowly easing.

"Day after day, we started talking more… exchanged stories from time of our separation… She was there to guide me through your stages and I was there to help she asked. I felt guilty…"

"Why?"

Igneel's cheerful expression turned sad again as he looked at Natsu "Because old flame returned. She was still that beautiful woman I remember. Shy but strong, cautious but determined. Countless times I asked myself if I am doing right choice by allowing myself to be close to her again. What would your mother say? Would she approve? It was a very conflicting moment for me, having to choose between staying loyal to your mother and moving on with life and doing my best to raise you… and I just couldn't do it alone. Funny thing is… she felt same, unsure whether to continue where we left off or focus entirely on raising Wendy."

"I don't remember about her before she got here." Natsu added, trying to put all the pieces of puzzle into their place. He started feeling the weight of story as he continued listening, understanding why Igneel didn't want to talk about it. In retrospective, Natsu hadn't had trouble moving from one girl to another and as sole opposite, his father still had loyalty toward his deceased wife.

"She came few times, though you didn't want to stay long near her. You preferred being in your room." Igneel explained adjusting his glasses to be a bit closer to his eyes "We didn't start living together as we are now for years. Original idea was for you and Wendy to adjust. Unlike you, Wendy had no problem adjusting to me but you and Grandine had… issues."

"Yeah I remember…" Natsu added in low tone, remembering the night Gran slapped him across face.

"Our biggest concern was not if you will accept Grandine… we feared that you might reject Wendy."

"Why would you think that?"

"I was afraid that you might reject her. That you might mistreat her or believe that she is there to replace you. Beyond my expectation, you accepted her rather quickly. She looked at you like your brother, you saw someone you needed to protect… But you still couldn't accept Grandine. And it culminated in one moment."

"I remember." Natsu interjected, scratching base of his head as uneasiness washed over him "I remember saying screw you, you are not my mother."

Igneel's eyebrows rose as he watched Natsu speak about event "Is that what you remember?"

"Yeah." Natsu replied but the way Igneel spoke made him curios "Why? Did I say something else?"

"You filtrated things you said before…"

"What did I say?" Natsu asked again, leaning once more in anticipation.

"What you said, word for word, was _You only pretend that you care about me._ Then you proceeded to say your famous line."

"I don't remember that…" Natsu said in low, almost defeated tone. His heart dropped down, felt like it melted its way through his stomach and fell right between his feet.

"I don't blame you." Igneel added "What you didn't know is that from the very start, she did care about you. And she still does, not one bit less. She only slapped you once because you managed to hurt her deeply. Natsu, you are my son and I love you but I am glad she did, because if she didn't I would've bent you over my knee and show you how my father used to lecture me."

"In retrospective, maybe you should've…"

"I wanted to. Despite her slap, I still wanted to punish you for your words… the only reason why I didn't was because she asked me not to." He stopped there, taking a deep breath and holding it in for few seconds before exhaling through the nose. "You also don't know that after that, she came here. Right in this room… and sat over there." His hand rose and he pointed at the corner where bookshelf was located. "She sat there and cried for hours."

Natsu's eyes darted back toward his father. His throat felt as if it was clogged by a boulder that wouldn't go down no matter how many times he swallowed. He knew his step-mother to be a lot of things but most of all, she was woman who always smiled, who was always polite despite Natsu being 'tolerant' of her at best. He saw that she tried hard to be close to him with no success, all due to his effort. This… this brought new light into the matter and he felt another stone in his body… it was located in stomach and he knew what it was carved on it. Guilt.

"Once you stormed into your room, crying your eyes out, she left too. I knew she was here because I could hear her cry from outside. She was sitting down on the ground, hugging her knees and crying. She apologized for about thirty times, telling me that she didn't knew what happened. It was just a heat of the moment and she snapped… no matter how much I tried to console her, she wouldn't stop crying… all because she hit you, even though she tried her best not to be your mother, but to be someone you can come when you need help. In response… you ignored her for months. Didn't even want to look at her. I think that hurt her most."

"I am trying to fix that… I just hope I am not too late."

"It is never late for apology." Igneel quickly added "For better or worse, she is responsible for becoming who you are now, not me." Natsu's eyes danced on his father, trying to understand the meaning of the words but he didn't need to wait long to know what they meant "I knew how to be strict father, to prohibit you from doing something foolish but it was her who defended you. She was one who sent you to school and welcomed you back. She was one who prepared your food, washed your clothes and checked if you were covered at night. Do not mistake me, you cannot begin to imagine how much I regret that your mother is not here to see you grow up into a man… but I won't pretend and say I could have handled it on my own… I panicked. Literally panicked at the realization of having to raise you on my own. Grandine was one who gave me strength to keep moving."

"Do you remember your first game?" Igneel asked and Natsu nodded "I couldn't make it. You know who did?"

"I know." Natsu said in defeated voice "I saw Gran sitting on bench."

"Did you know that day Wendy had recital at school?" Natsu just waved his head to the question, not knowing what to say "She didn't go to her own daughter's recital just so she could come to your game. For years she tried to find a way and earn your forgiveness. Now if I was in her place… I love both you and Wendy but I believe I will choose you first… After all you are my son. She chose other way around."

After that, long silence ensued… one that neither wanted to break. Natsu had his eyes focused down between his feet, looking into one spot, remembering all the moments he purposely avoided his step-mother. He couldn't shake that one feeling that kept looming over him and fact was… he behaved like an ass. For a moment, he tried to put himself in her place and realized that he wouldn't try so hard over someone like him… but she did.

"There are a lot of things I chose not to tell you, Natsu. Not because I wanted to hide them from you but because I knew that you had to grow up in order to understand them. One of them is that raising a child on your own is painfully difficult. Some manage to accomplish that, make it look easy. Others don't. Those who fail often end up break family even more than it already is. I needed someone to lean against, someone who will give me strength to… well… swallow your mischievous phases and I am willing to be that half of them I still don't know about."

"Because Gran hid it from you?" Natsu asked, lifting his gaze to look at his father who just nodded.

"You are grown man now and I always trusted your judgment. I can't say I agreed with it, but I trusted it because I know you are, after all, my son. In the end you always find your path." Words easily reached pinkette and he smiled, feeling the rush of encouragement. "I won't ever ask you to see Grandine as replacement for your mother… no one will ever accomplish that. What I am asking… no… what I am begging you... is to at least appreciate the effort she put in helping you find your path."

"I will dad, I promise." Natsu said with nod as he stood up, followed closely by his father's gaze "I'll try to fix mistakes."

"I know you will." Igneel concluded, offering a brief smile as he watched Natsu leave room. Heavy sigh followed as he leaned his head back against the chair, trying to figure out this entire situation. Despite Natsu's attempts to make this look spontaneous, Igneel knew that this had something to do with his friend Lucy. He has been mentioning her often lately and with what he knew, there was some connection.

Silence fell heavily inside room, only the sound of clock was heard. There was still work to be done but he allowed himself a moment of rest. Heavy burden that pulled his shoulders down has suddenly fell, and next deep breath felt like he was free man, breaking out of shackles that held him down for years. His hand reached up and he pulled a small framed picture that was on his table. There were two figures… one was him and the other was his deceased wife.

His thumb lightly caressed the glass over the photograph and he whispered "I hope I am meeting your expectations…"


	30. Leap of faith

**A/N: Here we are! 30 chapters, over 500 followers. This is by far my most successful story and one I have been struggling with. The reason why I struggle with this story is because I lost the reason why I started writing it. You see, I intended to dedicate this story to a very special person... one who brought light in my life and one whose story I wanted to tell through this story. That someone has left me for another person due to... issues of distance. For a while now I have considered to halt this story permanently and give it to someone else to finish it. I can tell you, it is hard to look at my characters and be reminded that one person I considered my actual soul-mate, no matter how cheesy it sounds, has left me. For that reason, quality of this and few other chapters may have dropped... I have no excuse for it. But... I decided to continue it. I also decided to continue Path of Mending, since there are only few more chapters left in that story. I will bring both stories to their proper ending. When I finish this story, I will tell you to whom I dedicate it. **

**I am also in progress of rewriting all chapters of this story starting from first one. That includes fixing grammar mistakes and filling in few plot holes that I overlooked. I thank you all for your continuous support, I do always check out everyone of your profiles and read your stories. I don't end up commenting on all of them but I do remember those whom I see most often in comments. Let me know what you think of the chapter.**

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Start of the week marked moment of great indecisiveness for Natsu. His lengthy conversation with father managed to clear out many doubts in his mind and brought hope that his domestic problems could be resolved, but it did little to resolve problems that came from the outside. All it brought was acknowledgment that Lucy's life was full of hardships and future promised little change. Every day before going to college he stood in bathroom, looking at reflection in mirror. Same eyes, same nose, same lips, same hair… that image never changed, it is the same as the same one he saw months ago. And yet… he saw different person. That Natsu only looks like him, they share likeness but that is not him… that is not Natsu that came before mirror to check himself and boost his already high confidence. He saw something in eyes that smooth surface revealed to him. It wasn't attitude that separated him from the rest of the group nor the unique charm that girls found irresistible. No… it was fear.

He swallowed hard, clenching the sink with both hands, staring at his own reflection. Droplets of water slowly slid down on his face as he silently tried to recognize this person. There was reason for his fear. The future in which he can see Lucy stand beside him was closer than ever. He knew the smell of her hair, tasted her lips and if she shares only one percent of common traits with every other girl out there, then all this meant that she will give in soon. All he has to do is keep his game and time when she willingly gives herself to him will come. Pattern is there, he can see it. The final stretch before the finishline and the sleepless night in her bed is just there in front of him. He sees it but every sense in his body is screaming and begging not to cross it. And for once, he agrees.

He laughs, alone in bathroom, wiping his face with palm of his hand. Realization that he is in love with her is hitting him hard and from all four sides. He wants her, he wants to be close to her, he wants to be beside her and be more than just another man for one night. His very being begins to experience the feeling of yearning, to be beside her and hear her talk. Anything, everything! Let her speak about molecules and electrons, let her speak about corals in the sea, literature and architecture, let her speak about vastness of the universe and endless paradoxes, let her speak about world problems and pointless gossips… just let her speak. The very thought about her begins to paint his world in shade of his hair. It's too late to back away now and even if he wishes to, even if she understands reason why he has to back away from her, he will regret it. Fear persists.

What is it that he wants from her? Relationship is too easy answer but assuming it comes to that, assuming that Lucy accepts him, where will it go? How long will it last? She made it perfectly clear that she doesn't need a distraction from her goal. He chuckles one more time and looks into the reflection "Of course she doesn't… she isn't like any girl you ever dated. She needs someone to be there with her, for her. Where are you in this picture?" Questions plagued him, endlessly tormenting him with answers that he knew not how to get.

Yes, he loves her but how long will it last? What if Gray is indeed right and eventually this spark subsides? What if he finally gets what he couldn't from the start and then finds himself satisfied? What if he begins yearning to get out? Can he stand to do it? Can he withstand to see her be hurt by one person who promised never to hurt her? Is his love that shallow?

Today is Wednesday and that marks third day of him successfully avoiding Lucy. Until he finds answers to his questions he thought it best not to see her. All classes they had in common he attended by sitting at the very back of the classroom. As they concluded, he waited for Lucy to leave first before he would stand up and do the same. He felt dirty. Just one kiss from her managed to completely mess up his entire inner world and how is he responding to it? He is running away, avoiding her in wide arc. Worst part was that he believed his plan is working. It wasn't.

"Alright, spill it. What is wrong with you?" Gray asked as they were leaving final lecture of the day.

"I have no idea what you are talking about?" Natsu answered, looking left and right after they left the classroom. Gray's suspicion only grew as he watched his friend behave like a cartoon character.

"Yeah and I don't know you." Gray continued to press on but had to wait until Natsu was sure that he is not being 'watched'. He could see on pinkette's face that something was wrong. Even taking into consideration everything that happened in past month, this was new level of worrisome expression. Natsu led both of them outside, creating space between two of them and the rest of the crowd before he spoke.

The story was told as it happened, everything was explained in detail exactly as Natsu remembers it and it didn't take long for Gray to begin predicting what would happen next. When things like this happen, Natsu was usually cocky, opting to brag about his conquest or one to come. But the way Natsu was telling it, he could see that there is something deep inside of him that is eating him alive. Patently, he waited for him to finish the story before he would speak.

"Okay, I get that you are worried about something but I am not sure what you are exactly worried about… also, why did you wait all this time to tell me this?"

"I dunno… I was not sure what to think about it myself." Natsu answered, slowly exhaling air from lungs as his eyes darted around students.

"So what was that entire act you pulled in last three days?" Gray asked.

"To be honest, I don't know how I am going to face Lucy." Natsu said in low tone, moving both hands through his pink locks "I know that it's wrong what I am doing and she's probably gonna get a wrong idea…"

"Well if we are honest." Gray interjected "I don't think she'll mind some time-out from you."

"But when I do face her… what am I going to tell her?"

"How about nothing?" Gray answered bluntly, facing his friend entirely and blocking his view of students "How about you take that as she said it is because so far Lucy has been straightforward with you. To her it could be a form of gratitude that she is expressing in a way that you will understand."

"And what if she feels the same?" Natsu asked, swallowing hard as he locked gaze with Gray.

"Since when is that a problem for you, Natsu? We both know you were aiming to get to this point, you wanted to get close to her and suddenly you have opportunity to do so. What is stopping you?"

"What if you are right?" Pinkette asked.

"Whoop-tee doo, big surprise there." Gray answered sarcastically with a grin.

"How long will it last? What if she wants a real, lasting relationship and I suddenly feel choked? What if it is other way around? What if she is that 'one' and I am just a short-term lean?"

Gray listened carefully, noticing the internal struggle that Natsu was having. It wasn't all that hard to spot. Change in tone, sudden and erratic movements and difficulty maintaining eye-contact were plenty of reasons to see that he wasn't taking this lightly. Natsu was truly struggling to find right answers to his questions. Gray took deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Look, I am glad that you see me as your Jiminy Cricket but in this matter I really have no answer for you." Gray said and it brought little comfort to Natsu "The best advice I can give you is to face her and let her know about your feelings. I can't predict what she will say to you but knowing her, she will most likely want someone who will be there for her, who will support her and honestly… she needs that. Question is, what is it that you need?"

"I can't treat her like my previous girlfriends." Natsu answered, even though it wasn't what Gray asked. "She deserves a good guy and… if I see her with someone, I think I might punch his teeth in."

"Alright, at least you know you love her. As a senior in love…" Gray started and immediately got the 'really?' look from Natsu "Shut up. You know of sex, your love is lacking… If Lucy is really that one girl that you have been waiting for, then all your questions will be answered. In fact, she WILL be answer to all your questions."

"Was it the same with you and Juvia?" Natsu inquired, making Gray show his cringe face.

"Juvia and I are… different story. It's not exactly best way to start the life story with a stalker. I had to know about her first before I allowed her to get here…" he tapped twice on his own chest "And even then it was a leap of faith. Either she would turn out to be person I hate or person I love. For me it was latter and we don't have perfect relationship and we fight almost constantly. Hell, sometimes I honestly cannot understand why she is overthinking so much but whatever issues we have, we resolve it." Gray made a short pause and then frowned lightly uttering a short "Huh…"

"What?" Natsu asked, curious about this last thing Gray said.

"Well, now that I think about it, your situation is not all that different… You are the stalker!" Gray exclaimed with a short laugh.

"Yeah I get the irony…"

"Look, if you want to succeed in relationship and by that I don't mean just Lucy, I mean with every girl you chose... Remember your relationship with Lisanna?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything you did with her. In fact, when in doubt, remember what you did when you were with Lisanna and do exact opposite. You'll be just fine."

Natsu received a short tap on his shoulder before Gray left. Situation didn't improve much even after this talk. He managed to receive encouragement but that didn't shushed demons that were stuck inside of his head. Perhaps he is right, perhaps he just needs to make a leap of faith and see where it goes… best case scenario, he will crash and burn… except this time he might drag someone along with him. His tormenting was just about to begin.

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"Thank you for your patronage, please come again." Lucy said with sweet voice and bright smile as she handed a small but neatly packed slice of cake along with change. Man returned smile and left with his little slice of heaven, leaving Lucy to catch a small break from all that forced smiling.

"We haven't this many customers in months." Her coworker added in tired tone "I need a vacation."

Lucy looked over at Nea and grinned slightly "Yea well, not an option for me."

"No, but you need a sweet bun to relax you." Girl added with cocky smile.

"Geez, you sound like Levy." Lucy returned through clenched teeth. Though Nea meant well, it still felt as if entire world is pressuring her.

"Well she is not wrong. I mean are you sure plumbing is still working?"

"What?" Lucy quickly shot a glare toward her, only seconds prior to a faint blush that would adorn her cheeks "My plumbing-" She suddenly stooped as she realized how loud she was and continued in almost whispering voice "My plumbing is just fine."

"Are you sure?" Nea asked, continuing to draw the red color on Lucy's cheeks "I mean it wouldn't hurt to call 'repairman' to check it. And speaking of repairman, your boyfriend is here?"

It is funny how that term instantly made Lucy think about Natsu. Perhaps everyone managed to rub off on her enough to connect those two 'terms' or perhaps she wasn't vocal enough in explaining that he isn't her boyfriend. Still, for some reason, she felt a bit glad that he is here. Lately he managed to be that one constant that never changed… cocky, irritating, nagging but still sweet constant.

"If you are going to pass on him, can I have him?" Nea asked and received yet another cold glare from Lucy. This time, even she realized her own actions and groaned at the mistake. She waited for Natsu to settle in on a table before she walked over to him with all the courtesy that shop demanded – sweet voice and cute smile.

"Good day sir, what can I get you today?" She asked.

"What do you recommend?" Natsu asked looking up at her, noticing the blush on her cheeks though he believed it was just part of make-up.

"Specialty of the day is strawberry cake."

"Lovely. Since your shift ends in ten minutes, I'll have two of those and two lemonades."

It was a problematic scenario… he was starting to learn her patterns and that didn't contribute to his already existing stalker image. Still, he is a paying customer and she obliged and brought tray with two slices of strawberry cake and two glasses of lemonade. For the most part, he was silent and that brought a bit of suspicion in her. Usually he would do all he could to make her sit down with him but now… now he is waiting patiently, toying with frosting on his slice of cake. But that wasn't what bugged her most. Like Natsu, she was also worried. Was he thinking badly of her because she kissed him? She didn't know herself what to think about that event and now she was in position to question his feelings too.

As her shift ended, she removed her apron and a fluffy hat and made her way over to his table. He was quick to slide other plate with cake along with glass to her end of the table.

"Well this is a surprise." Lucy said as she sat down "I thought you were ignoring me."

"What?" He asked nervously "Why made you think that?"

"Well for start I saw you notice me on the hallway and then you quickly turned and walked other way." Lucy said calmly, taking a small fork and gently sliced bit of cake.

"Oh, you noticed that…" Natsu replied in low tone, gulping down hard.

"It's kinda hard to miss your hair. And then you didn't even reply to my text. Usually you are one to call me first and reply within first ten seconds."

Natsu frowned and quickly took phone from his pocket, sliding finger across the screen. True to Lucy's words, there was one message on it... from her.

"So, mind telling me why you've been running away from me?"

"I wasn't running away from you." He answered, avoiding to say the truth.

"Really? Because seeing you run away like you just saw a ghost isn't exactly how you treat a friend."

"Yeah…" he added through a chuckle before continuing "Okay, I guess I was a little confused after you kissed me."

"Was I that bad?" Lucy asked, making him choke a bit on his piece of cake. Bad she asked? He couldn't sleep because of it.

"Yeah, no. It was a lot of things but bad wasn't one of it." He answered, taking a long sip to clear bits of cake that was still stuck in his throat "I guess after that kiss before I thought you'd admit it was a mistake and then tried to push me away."

"I am not confused about it." She added after a short pause and a few bites of her cake "I know I asked some unreasonable things from you and I hope you understand what I am going through. After Sean, trusting any man was a difficult task. To be honest, I never expected to get any male friend, not one I can trust at least. Then you barged in…" She finished, last sentence spoke in low, grumbling tone and narrowed eyes.

"Yea it was a bumpy start." Natsu added nervously.

"Bumpy doesn't do its justice." Lucy continued. She looked down at her cake, observing multiple layers of the filling "I wanted you to be as far away as possible but… even after hurting me the way you did, you still managed to save me. Twice."

"Any decent man would've done it."

"Not every man would be as persistent to get close to me." She said, soft smile still present but her big, brown eyes revealed sadness deep inside of them "I know that I am horrible at being honest sometimes, Levy points it out all the time… but you did managed to shed some light in my already dark schedule. It was just work, study and looking after my daughter but somehow you squeezed yourself into that agenda. Sometimes more annoying than helpful but it broke the routine I was having. I know you are trying to put yourself in best light but…"

"But you still see Sean when you look at me." He added in low tone and Lucy nodded.

"I thought he was the one, man who would… swipe me off my feet and carry me away from my predetermined future. All I got was his daughter and a look of disgust when I told him about Michelle. You can't imagine the pain…"

"No I can't." He said quickly and she looked up at him "But I do have pretty good idea."

"It's bad that I am comparing you two…"

"If it wasn't for Sean, what do you think would've happened?"

"I don't know." Lucy answered. A light smile appeared on her face as she looked down at her plate once more "I suppose if I was just a normal girl studying at Fairy Tail… I'd probably fall for you eventually."

His heart started racing and he could feel every beat on the surface of his skin. Familiar heat started rising, reaching his head and entire room suddenly felt cold. What was she saying? Was that a sign that she may yet see him as someone whom she can love as a man instead just a friend?

"I should get going." Lucy said, standing up from the chair.

"Right… uhh… I'll come along if you don't mind me walk with you." He stood up quickly, taking out his wallet to pay for deserts.

"You know that my house is not that far and there is no danger of me being kidnapped, right?"

"No, I get that…" He nodded "But one can't be hundred percent sure. Better safe than sorry."

She giggled at his remark but agreed. After everything that happened, she really needed a bit of company that isn't consisted of perpetually horny dwarf with tendency to grope her. Despite his initial intentions, Natsu managed to keep his distance… at very least he didn't touch her without her consent. Most of the time at least. For Natsu the feeling was less pleasant. Though his feet were as cold as ice, he felt as if he is about to burn inside his clothes. And then she spoke. He missed first few sentences, focusing entirely on her voice… It was something about school or house or work… it could've been anything and it wouldn't have mattered. What did matter was her voice, her tone, the way she would elevate it when she'd get just a little bit more excited and that low tone when she was angry at Natsu's blunt stupidity that he managed to show every now and then. He prayed this walk would be just a bit longer.

"I'm sorry…" Lucy said all of a sudden, making him snap out of his mesmerizing daydream.

"For what?"

"For what I did. I don't know why I did it… it felt as if I just wanted to return the favor but… I didn't know any other way to say thank you properly. I guess it's a bit selfish."

Selfish she said. So the sleepless night was because of her selfishness? If only she knew the damage she managed to cause to him. Bit by bit, they already reached her house and that meant the end of their conversation. Sure, he will see her tomorrow but for today it is going to end.

"Thanks for understanding." She said as she walked over to the door, closely followed by Natsu.

"What made you think I wouldn't?" He tilted his head forward as he asked.

"I guess I have my own insecurities sometimes." Lucy answered. She eyed him, up and down before snapping out of her ogling "Right, I should probably get inside."

"Right. I'll see you tomorrow." He added and she nodded with a grin, watching him take slow steps away from the door and toward the street. The pressure in him rose and his head, that previously harbored an unadulterated chaos, has suddenly become clear. Leap of faith, he thought.

"I'm sorry!" He said and turned to look toward Lucy, catching her just before she opened her front door. She was confused by his words but he wouldn't let her ask why "I wasn't being honest with you. The reason I ran away was not because I thought you'd misunderstand that kiss or our friendship… it's because I was."

Lucy looked at him wide eyed, her mouth suddenly became dry as she listened to him unravel the secrets of his soul.

"The moment I kissed you, I knew that something changed between us. I know I said that I would wait but I can't. That moment you kissed me… I lost count how many girls I kissed and not once did I feel like that."

"N-Natsu?" She started but he quickly interrupted, continuing his speech.

"The truth is…" He stopped in mid-sentence; keeping his mouth gaped open before he found the courage to continue "You somehow managed to change me… I am standing here… no bet, no attempt to get you in bed with me, no ulterior motive."

"What are you saying?" She asked whith shaky voice, knowing well where this is leading.

"I am saying that I like you, Lucy. I like you a lot and… I want to be there for you. Not just as a friend, I want to be there when you are happy and when you are sad, I want to be there to pick you up when you fall and push you forward when you stagger. I know that if I don't ask you this now, I will regret it so… Lucy Heartfillia, will you go out with me?"


	31. And she said

**A/N: This scene has been in my head for very long. I know because this is something I once did and I felt just as... well... you'll see. If you wonder what song it was, you'll have to use Google, just remember to listen to original version. It's never too late for classics. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter and I really hope you liked it too. Let me know what you think.**

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Cold gust enveloped blonde girl as she stood at her doorstep, staring at the inanimate-looking figure that stood in front of her. Her heart began racing so fast and hard that she could hear every beat in her ears. The very concept of time lost its meaning in those few seconds that took for her to fully comprehend meaning of his words. But she lost him. As soon as _"I like you"_ reached her ears, everything went blank. No sound reached her ears, no light would be bright enough to blind her… and the air around her suddenly became cold. His lips are still moving, he is speaking but she can't hear it right away. No, it will take some time before his words finally reach her, before her brain starts working properly again and the blood once again reaches her head. Right now it felt as if every drop of blood suddenly decided to remain at her feet. He stopped talking and looks at her, breathing like he just finished marathon and she finally noticed his eyes.

It felt as if eternity passed right before her eyes, a lifetime of a star would pale in comparison to those few seconds of silence that engulfed two of them. Blood that rushed to her head decided that her cheeks would be best place to be at and the contrast of her pale complexion and red, hot cheeks was far too obvious. She noticed every twitch Natsu made, every blink of his eyes and heaving of his chest. What is she supposed to say now? His eyes are painted with same determination she saw before but instead of odd combination of lust and arrogance, there was sincerity and innocence. Film once again rolled in her head, once again repeated that same sentence. I like you, Lucy… Is he lying? Is he playing his tricks again to slither into her bed? What if he isn't?

And then… the silence was broken?

"Are you insane?" Lucy suddenly shouted at Natsu, making him flinch at her question. He expected for her to either say yes or no… this was not what he expected to hear.

"Yes." He replied calmly, determined to go through with his plan "I am insane and that doesn't change my stance."

"Natsu, this isn't a fairy tale. You can't just confess and expect me to jump into your arms and end the story?" Lucy pressed on; her breathing was as heavy as his.

"I know it's not a story. If it was then I would've kissed you you in chapter ten." Natsu replied, swallowing hard "But I won't just walk around and pretend I am fine with how things are… because I am not."

"I…" Lucy choked on her words.

"You are so set on keeping 'strictly business' policy in life but it doesn't have to be like that." He made a few steps forward and Lucy made one step back, now pressed against the front doors. It was all the sign he needed and he stopped his progression, choosing to stay where he is "You will crash and burn if everything you do has to be beneficial for the future. I get that you have to do what you are doing right now but it doesn't mean you can't look out for yourself too."

"And you think I am not?" She asked, rising her voice to be higher than his. Natsu frowned and quickly cut the distance between them, placing both hands beside her head, lodged firmly against the wooden doors. Like a lamb, she stared at dragon that was seconds away from devouring her… and he could smell her fear.

"No, you are not." He answered, preserving his calmness "You've accepted the idea that all this is just a dead weight, that a boyfriend is a burden that you have to dedicate time to from your life. As an expert boyfriend I am telling you it is nothing like that. Yes, we need that attention, yes sometimes we are jerks and need that one extra minute more but guess what Luce… boyfriend also gives. You think that I will take away time from your daily life but I won't… I am fine with just seeing you during college and at work, I am fine not getting anywhere physical with you until you say it is time to do so, I am fine with date only being ten minutes before your shift ends and I am fine… just having two percent of your time."

"You won't be." Lucy added as she shivered. It was no longer fear or anxiety, it was the feeling that she felt before, one that she associated with pain and loneliness "No one is fine with just that and you- "

"Dammit stop comparing me to Sean!" Natsu growled loud at blonde who gulped hard at his words "He is he, I am me… We are not the same. We never were and we never will be so just… shut up and listen. I don't care what kind of bad memories he implanted in you but I plan to give you some good memories."

"Have you forgotten what I have on my plate?" Lucy asked, finally managing to put together all those little bits of courage that were lost ten minutes ago.

"No, I haven't and that's why I am going through with this. Because once we finish this college, we will be plunged into this world to fend for ourselves. It is going to be hard life if you plan to start it without single good memory of college. Is that what you are aiming for? For next sixteen years to live for your daughter without anyone by your side to carry the burden?"

"Natsu… what are you saying?" Lucy asked. His speech sounded more like marriage proposal with every second passed.

"In the past month, you've managed to give me a lot of memories. Some were good, some were bad and I admit I am responsible for bad ones… but I still have them. Do you know what I realized?" Natsu asked and after a few seconds Lucy waved her head "I realized that you are by far strongest person I've ever met. With shit you go through, with how much you have to carry with you on daily basis… most people I know can't endure as long as you did... and we both know it's just a start of long war. Because of that, I think that you, more than anyone, deserve good memories otherwise these four years will be just gray, blank page. I am sorry, but I can't let that happen."

"Why do you care so much Natsu?" Lucy asked in low tone, gazing up into his eyes that radiated warmth "Why do you still care about… me?"

"Because you are dear to me." He replied without a second of hesitation, slowly backing away from Lucy, giving her some space "Because spending time with you has affected me and made me realize a lot of things. One of them is that you deserve some good memories as well and I'll do what I do best to give them to you."

"I've seen what you do 'best' and I am not exactly hyped to jump into bed with you."

"I am not asking you to." Natsu quickly shot back at her "If I do such then you can sic your friend Gajeel on me. I promise I'll stand still as he pummels me."

"Natsu…" Lucy sighed heavily, pressing her lips together one against another, unsure how to answer.

"I am not asking for more than you know you can give. Right now, I am selfishly asking for a chance to prove that I am someone who can be there for you and show you world in different color."

Lucy was once again left speechless, feeling the pressure build up in her. It wasn't just Natsu, it was also Levy who kept telling her that she needs to make few more mistakes in life. Perhaps she was right but this is not how she envisioned any relationship to start. At best, her idea was to know someone for years and then marry once she reaches her forties and when every other option is exhausted. College was not the place she hoped it would start and most definitely not by someone like Natsu. Never by someone like Natsu. The turmoil in her only grew to be stronger as she realized that he just might stick to his word, that he might actually bring laugh and color pink in her world… and that thought scares her. It petrified her completely with all kinds of questions. What if he is the one? What if her grades suffer? What if Michelle refuses him? Worse yet, what if she accepts him and he refuses Lucy all of a sudden? Will it last? Will it end once his eye catches another?

Will it hurt?

He was standing. Eyes looking down upon her with same warmth as before, slowly melting her inside. But demons refused to stop planting worms of doubt in her head and her chest clenched. Even she forgot why she was suddenly afraid of men, why they disgusted her. Were two kisses all she needed to be persuaded otherwise? She gave one of them and she felt nothing akin to disgust. No, what she did not want to admit even to herself was that she actually liked it… she refused to accept the fact that she liked him.

"I don't know Natsu… I'll think about it." She uttered, reaching for the doorknob.

"I will bug you until you say yes." Natsu added "Tomorrow and day after tomorrow and every day after that."

"Going back to your stalker days, huh?"

"Yep." He added with wide grin on his lips "I plan to stalk you every day, even when you are at home. Don't forget I have your number, I can send you thirty messages in one hour."

"It's that important to you that I say yes?" Lucy inquired; opening her door but still didn't enter. She was interested in hearing his answer.

"It is, only this time it's just me and you. No third party, no wager and no achievement to be made. No, that's a lie… there is achievement. You."

"Me?" She asked, widening her eyes.

"Yes, you." He concurred decisively "I want you. No backups, no replacements. You. That's my motive and those are my terms. But I am not expecting you to answer me now, I know day's been horrible so think about it and tell me answer tomorrow."

For the third time, blonde was unsure what to say. He smiled at her and waved before leaving, casually, as if this was just another 'bye' and not an ultimatum placed before her. She quickly walked inside closing doors behind her. No relief came to her, only the painful realization that for the first time she was not sure what to do. Believing that keeping her mind preoccupied will bring some relief, she buried herself in daily grind. There was studying to be done, spend some time with Michelle and get to bed as soon as her daughter closes her eyes. It was easier said than done, long after Michelle fell asleep Lucy was still awake, sitting by the window and looking out. Maybe Natsu is right… maybe all of her strength is just temporary and life will just slip into cold, gray area where living becomes nothing more than pre-programmed routine. She dreaded that. Of course she wants best for Michelle, for her to live free of the cage that Lucy had to live in but will she be able to do it all by herself? Her hand moved through her long blond locks as she gazed up at the stars. Suddenly her life felt so insignificant compared to billions of stories that already exist out there, on this world, up among the endless skies. Would it be a sin to be selfish just a little bit?

Morning brought no answer and sleeping on the entire matter didn't do much. What will she say to Natsu? No doubt he will wait for her and do some crazy, stupid gig to draw her attention. That thought gave her a small chuckle. At least someone is waiting for her at the college other than Levy. With shaky determination, she left the house, leaving Elizabeth once again in charge as she delves in deep to tackle daily issues. Routine rarely changed and she was greeted by a particular short girl with blue hair. At least that won't backfire and cause more problems but there was one thing she constantly forgot… that thing was the inquisitive personality her best friend had. Once you know someone for over a decade, you tend to pick up even slightest of hints. Levy did exactly that but only inquired once all lectures have been completed.

"Twitchy are we?" Levy asked after clearing her throat.

"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked, already feeling bits of sweat form on her forehead. Great calamity was approaching…

"Oh I dunno… maybe you being less focused, maybe the fact you used too much deodorant…" Levy numbered her assumptions. The mischievous smile emerged and petrified Lucy's very being "Or maybe it's you constantly looking over your shoulder. Spill it sister!"

"What are the odds I can say 'it's nothing' and you actually accept it?" Lucy asked, navigating among the crowd of students on hallway, moving toward the exit. Levy had a lot less difficulty slipping between them.

"There was never a chance for that happening. So what happened? Did Pinky do something?"

"You are never letting go of that name, are you?" Lucy asked, grabbing onto one last straw to change topic.

"I will stop when you start." Bluenette grinned wide "So… what's the latest news?"

Realizing that it is just prolonging the inevitable, Lucy took a deep sigh and uttered "Well, he confessed." The sentence sent her petite friend into almost unnatural glee. The very mention of him brought up entire conversation back inside her head and with it came the very same blush she had. Levy's hands quickly wrapped around Lucy, pulling her into tight embrace. At least someone was having fun with the idea.

"How did it happen? I want details, all the details!" Levy demanded, letting her go and standing in front to block her further progression outside of Fairy Tail grounds.

Lucy took a deep sigh, knowing she will regret every word "Well, he walked me home from work… we talked about our friendship and how he reminded me of Sean…"

"Oh don't tell me you are still on about him…" Levy protested with a groan.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't need you to say anything. Just forget about him. How many people have asked you out since you came to Fairy Tail?"

"Including Natsu? Four." Lucy answered after a few moments of thinking.

"And out of those four, only Natsu decided to stick around as long as he is now. You have a chance to actually forget about your daily life and enjoy life."

"Funny how you two suddenly sound same…" Blonde replied, sensing impending déjà vu.

"Answer me this Lu…" Levy started again, rising her finger and placing it right in front of her friend's face "Would you rather spend remaining years in Fairy Tail continuing your daily routine of sleeping, working and studying until you get a job and then replace it with sleeping, working and raising Michelle on your own? Or would you rather have all that and a guy who will genuinely try to make you smile?"

Lucy was once again left speechless. As convincing as Levy can be, this didn't ease up her troubles.

"I know but…"

"But what?" Levy interjected before Lucy continued, waving finger in front of her eyes "Just imagine every day, just like this only with a guy who can talk you to sleep. Chatting, messages, sexting-"

"Levy!" Lucy raised her voice, frowning at her friend who couldn't care less about her choice of words or the fact someone might hear.

"All those sweet white lies and you are really gonna miss that?"

"Yes but what if-"

"For the love of God, take a chance!" Levy shouted, now bringing attention of numerous students around them "What is worst that can happen? Let me tell you… He can be with you, break up with you and you will move on. Being heart-broken is for people and that's the worst possible scenario. Wanna know what's best?" She moved herself closer, lowering her finger and instead she stood way too close to Lucy. They were one finger away from being pressed one against another "Best possible scenario... he just might be guy who will bring down a star for you."

Lucy's eyes closed and she inhaled deep. She doesn't hate the guy… no, quite the contrary. The thought of missing out this opportunity gave her an unusual but oddly familiar feel in her chest. The anxiety came back, reminding her that she is not all fine with idea of pushing Natsu far away. Perhaps this is not something she can put into calculations… just once, just this once… she can take that leap of faith.

"Alright…" Lucy said in soft voice, opening her eyes only to see Levy's bright smile once again adorning her face "I suppose it won't hurt."

"Nope! Now let's go tell him!"

"I haven't seen him at college." Lucy replied "No! I know what you are thinking, I am not going to his house to tell him that. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"Spoil-sport…"

* * *

"You sure this will work?" Gray asked, following Natsu two steps behind, constantly looking around.

"Yep. I'm trusting my guts on this." Natsu said as he walked forward with quick pace.

"Remind me again, how did you drag me into this again?"

"Well you said you owe me one, I called in a favor and now we're here." Natsu replied, excitement pouring out of mouth with every word spoken.

"You could've asked me to… I dunno, help you move stuff… help you with exam… cover you at practice… take an actual bullet for you... but no, instead you asked me to sing a serenade under girl's window at freaking midnight?!"

"First of all…" Natsu stopped walking just as they walked under one of the street lamps. The light of it revealed their clothing which was quite formal. Black suits with white shirts. Only thing that was missing were ties. "It's not for every girl. It's for Lucy. Second, I need a partner for the song. Who better than you? You do remember the words right?"

"Yea about that…" Gray interjected, shaking finger in front of Natsu's face "Why did you pick that song? I mean from myriad of possible songs, why did you pick –that- one?"

"I asked Gran actually. She told me that it's one of her favorite songs… that and dad used to sing it to her so I figure it's only appropriate for me to try it out."

"Yea but that doesn't sound like song you sing when you want someone to go out with you… sounds more like song you sing when you screwed up something. Aaaand you screwed up plenty. Things are unraveling." Gray commented, rubbing his eyes "Why couldn't you pick a different song? How about Ben E King? _Stand by me_ is a classic."

"Yea but there's only one vocal in it."

"Exactly!" Gray exclaimed "You can sing it and I can give you moral support, provide you with a beat."

"Gray… don't bail on me." Natsu said, placing both hands on his friend's shoulders "I really need your help with this and... I can't ask anyone else."

Gray let out a long groan, leaning his head back "Ugh… things I do for friendship."

"It took me a great deal to find just the song without voices. I got the app to amplify the phone's speakers… it should be good." Natsu responded, tapping Gray on his shoulders and turning around to continue his walk. Gray on the other hand was significantly less enthusiastic about this, already sensing impending doom that loomed above him. Once more he checked his phone to read the lyrics as he followed Natsu to the designated place. Darkness of the night gave them plenty of cover but once they start singing, they will be everything but inconspicuous. If Juvia finds out, he reasoned, there will be a hell to pay.

"Here we are." Natsu said in hushed tone as he approached front yard of Lucy's house. Street lamp poorly illuminated area that they stood on, but it was sufficient to recognize figures and perhaps faces… should someone stare long enough "All ready?"

"I swear Natsu, if I survive this I am going to kill you…" Gray begrudgingly responded, unbuttoning first button on shirt under the coat "What if she doesn't hear us?"

"Then we sing louder." Natsu replied, setting up the music on his phone. Nervousness quickly overtook him and the idea of dropping this seemed quite attractive. It has been long since he felt his palms this sweaty. But there was no turning back. This will succeed or he will fail. No third option "Here we go…"

Odd sounds reached Lucy's ears and she opened her eyes. The room seemed calm, Michelle was not letting out a cry but there were still… voices. It sounded like singing but worse than that, it sounded like familiar voices singing. Slowly she stood up from her bed and walked over to the window. On her front yard, two figures stood, facing her direction, lightly swaying from side to side. Her eyes quickly widened and she opened her window. Without mistake, it was Natsu, standing one step closer than Gray did, singing from the top of his lungs

_Now there's no welcome look in your eyes when I reach for you_

_Girl you're starting to criticize the things that I do_

_It makes me just feel like crying_

_'Cause baby, something beautiful's dying!_

"Natsu what are you doing?" Lucy asked with hushed tone that she tried to raise as much as possible to be heard, hoping it won't wake up Michelle. Natsu just smiled but didn't respond. Instead, Gray took a step forward to stand equal to his friend and they sang in unison

_You've lost that lovin' feelin'_

_Whoa that lovin' feelin'_

_You've lost that lovin' feelin'_

_Now it's gone, gone, gone, whoaohooo…_

Her hand instinctively moved over her mouth, preventing her from saying anything. There they stood, two young men in suits, singing under her window. The flush on her cheeks returned, but instead of light pink it was dark red. Even if she didn't cover her mouth she didn't know what to say. She was completely dumbstruck by the moment, by the act, how they sang as if this is something they do on regular basis. Natsu who once again sang, deepening his voice as much as possible to the verse with Gray jumping in to sing every other line…

_Baby baby, I'd get on my knees for you_

_If you would only love me like you used to do… yeah_

_We had a love, a love, a love you don't find everyday_

_So don't, don't, don't, don't let it slip away_

_Baby, baby, baby, baby, I beg you please, please, please_

_I need your love, I need your love, I need your love, I need your love, I need your love_

_Oh bring it on back, bring it on back…_

"Natsu, please…" Lucy pleaded, bursting into light giggle and biting her lips hard to hide the wide smile that she could no longer control. The very sight of him down there, making absolute fool out of himself, was as hilarious as it was sweet. It was something no one ever done for her. But they continued, once again singing in perfect unison, intertwining two completely different voices to create a vocal harmony in its own sense.

_Bring back that lovin' feelin' whoa that lovin' feelin'_

_Bring back that lovin' feelin'_

_'Cause it's gone, gone, gone_

_And I can't go on whoaohooo…_

Lucy suddenly rushed inside and closed the window, leaving both of them down, to recover from the rush.

"How was that? We did good?" Gray asked sighing heavily. Natsu's arm moved around his shoulder and tapped, hard.

"Whoa! That was…" Natsu burst into short chuckle "I tell you I thought I was gonna flunk halfway through."

"Well there's your audience." Gray nodded toward front door that opened and Lucy emerged from her house, wrapped in robes "Now if you will excuse me, I need to vanish before someone sees me. Have a good one."

Gray tapped Natsu on his back and turned around, walking away as he hummed the very song he sang just now. Calamity will have to come later… right now the Universe, no matter how big, was fixated on one girl. And she was left speechless for who knows what time in past two days. Natsu turned down the volume on his phone and took light steps toward the door where Lucy stood, left hand holding her robes closed tight and right one pressing her own lips as hard as possible.

"What did you do…?" She asked as she lowered her hand just enough to be able to.

"I was serenading." Natsu responded with a chuckle "How were we? Tell me it wasn't all that bad…"

"No it was… perfect." She said in shaky voice. There were many emotions that hounded her this week but not one was as strong as one right now. Genuine happiness.

"Really? Cause I thought that in second verse I kinda-"

His voice disappeared into darkness, cut off by one person that knew how to… by pressing her lips tight against his. Arms quickly wrapped around her, keeping her as close as possible. There it is… the same feeling he felt when she kissed him, only this time it lasted longer… much longer.

"Thank you." She responded, finally breaking away from him but still well within his reach "That was, sweetest, most beautiful thing anyone has ever done to me."

"Good 'cause I don't think I can do that once again." He chuckled, moving bits of her still entangled and messy hair away from her face. Even without a single gram of makeup, looking like a scarecrow in low light she looked beautiful. He on the other hand felt overdressed.

"I still owe you answer, do I?" Lucy asked, still trying her best to remove the smile from her own face, alas there was no success.

"And?" He asked, widening his eyes in expectation. She once more pressed her lips against his lips and whispered…

"Achievement unlocked…"


	32. Thin line of breaking point

**A/N: Wow... it has been long huh? Took me a while to publish it but I am still not near the end of it and I will see this story have proper ending, not rushed one. I managed to battle through a lot, mostly my own inspiration and determination to continue this story due to reason you... probably already know. Right now I am looking for a reason why I am writing it and to whom shall I dedicate it.**

* * *

It has been three weeks since Lucy fateful answer and the big monster she expected to appear and crush her down into the ground was yet to appear. Now, there were only two things that bugged her mind. That nagging doubt that this all could just be yet another elaborate plot to get on her good side has never truly left, but other emotions managed to temporarily dial it down and make Lucy forget its existence. Happiness. It has truly been long since she felt it, since she felt that simple state of bliss which came with encouragement that everything will be alright. Natsu… he didn't change. He was still a bother, a stalker who managed to be around every corner and sneak up on her when she least expected and just when she thought she has seen through every act he had to pull, he would manage to surprise her once again. She had difficulty trying to understand if he was jealous or just overprotective. And Lucy knew this was not something natural to Natsu, best indication was Gray who would be caught staring in disbelief at actions of his friend. Natsu managed to accomplish impossible, he made her feel safe while still keeping distance from her groin.

The truly astonishing fact was that she loved it, all of it. His presence around every corner, texts she received every hour, his newly acquired overprotective trait… It made her feel safe, gave her few feel of relief and content, enough to breathe again without the weight of mountain on her shoulders and she allowed herself to cultivate a single, small seed of hope. Maybe, just maybe… things will finally take a turn for the better.

And then, there was the other thought that occupied her mind. It wasn't so much of a thought as it was a fear. Things were more than fortunate on one field but the other one suffered greatly and Lucy began to realize that this happiness demands a certain sacrifice. This year will come to an end and she needs to have enough points in order to receive scholarship for another year to come. Her grades were high but that was not enough for Fairy Tail was renowned for cultivating talents, talent that she could not express. Her attendance to Professor Justine's drama classes was not sufficient… as he explained recently, she needed to excel if was to give her much desired points and that meant devoting both herself and time. She needed to read more, to once again accustom herself to works of immortal bards and writers of old… and with jobs she had, it was only possible if she was to sacrifice her own sleep. There was a solution… she needed to quit one of the jobs and spend more time studying. That is where problem lied. Her budged was already tighter than corset that crushed ribs and lungs and with one less job, she would have to cut expenses. Problem was… there was not much left to cut.

She didn't sleep all night. Her eyes were peeled to notebook filled with lists and numbers as she tried desperately to find any way to lower her expenses. Nothing related to Michele could be reduced… she couldn't bring herself to allow her own daughter to suffer this crisis, after all… this was all for her. Her guts clenched as she began calculating again and again, constantly reducing amount of money she could spend every day. Each time, numbers would come out different but one thing was constant. It was not enough. Around the morning, just before the sun managed to cast its first light on still sleepy town, she came to painful realization… there was one thing that could balance her budget.

Lucy prepared herself for another day. It was a rare thing for her to not be late but given the circumstance, she didn't felt exhaustion. After taking a deep breath, she left her room and headed downstairs where Elizabeth was already preparing breakfast. Her heart began racing, fingertips lost all of their pleasant warmth, becoming just a set of icicles clenched into a fist.

"Good morning…" Lucy greeted with shaky voice and followed by clearing of the same just enough to retain its tone.

"Oh, good morning dear." Elizabeth greeted back. Pleasant lines of her face instantly curved into a smile as she heard Lucy "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah…" Lucy replied but realized that there was no point in lying "No, not really, I didn't sleep last night…"

"Is something wrong?" Elder woman asked, worried about Lucy tone enough to move the pan from the stove and turn around to see her.

"Yes… I have to quit one of the jobs." Lucy said with heavy heart but this was not over yet "I need to study more to maintain scholarship and…"

"And?" Elizabeth asked, prompting Lucy to continue after long pause she made.

"And I can't afford you…" Lucy's voice finally broke down once again; half of her words were a mix of voice and whispers "My salary is not high enough to afford your help around... I am barely managing as it is but… One job won't cover it…"

Elizabeth saw what was happening. It was nothing she didn't expect to happen. Though when Lucy hired her, it was to maintain the house and help around Michele, eventually Lucy became more and more dependent on her. Rare were days when Lucy would tuck Michele to sleep and at one point she could see that her own daughter saw grandmother in elder lady, one she never had… and now she had to bear the burden of once again taking the entire weight on her shoulders.

"Is that what is bothering you, dear?" Elizabeth asked with her usual soft voice, prompting blonde to look up at her. The smile never left face.

"Of course it is bothering me." Lucy shot back, not even realizing her tone was elevated "If I don't pass this year with scholarship I will have to pay for tuition and… I don't have that kind of money." The realization hit her once gain. Lucy knew this already but only when she said it out loud did she felt the true weight of those words. Both she and Elizabeth knew very well that with just highschool she could never land a job that would provide financial stability she needed to ensure Michele's childhood is a happy one. She would have to resort to part time jobs and constant looming fear that new day may be last one on her workstation… it would be a vicious cycle of either working as part timer or finding job with low salary. Elizabeth was not worried, she had her faith in Lucy but she couldn't even begin to fathom the weight this poor child had to drag with her every single day. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"It has been seven years since Thomas passed awawy…" Elizabeth said in low tone as the memory of her husband flashed before her eyes "He was always a stubborn man but never lazy. I remember someone asking me what I saw in that man when I married him… It was his sense of humour and kindness that made me fall in love. For forty years, every day he found a way to make me laugh…" Another long sigh ensued as her smile revealed a simple sadness that lurked behind it "Our children have their own lives, their own children. They rarely visit nowadays and it is rather lonely life."

There was nothing Lucy could say to these words but she could easily recognize the bitter sting of loneliness and what horror it brings. Elizabeth continued "Though you may find it hard to believe, it is not the money that makes me come here every day." Smile once again returned to Elizabeth's face, wide and sincere "It is company and purpose. My pension is enough to give me what I need and I am here not because I need to be, but because you need me to."

Even though she didn't say anything, Lucy was caught speechless. Fortunately, Elizabeth knew exactly what to say "So you don't worry about my pay. I can work for free if that would mean helping with your situation."

It didn't take long for Lucy to approach and hug Elizabeth. To her, this was nothing short of a miracle, a blessing disguised as old woman sent to take away the horrible weight that threatened to pull Lucy down into the murky depths of despair… and she did just that. With this… she just might pull through…

* * *

"I think I my ball is stuck…" Natsu commented, shaking his left leg and stretching it to the side.

"So that's how you intend to ruin my day huh? Mental images… Aren't you wearing a cup?" Gray asked as he collected breath. Quick glance toward Natsu and his expression was all the answer he needed "Here's a better question, why aren't you wearing a cup?"

"Felt a bit uncomfortable." Natsu gave best excuse he could muster at the moment, still stretching his leg to the side as if he was sumo wrestler.

"Yeah, forget about all the safety precautions." Gray added, tone filled with sarcasm. Their practice has reached its inevitable end as did coach Strauss's relentless torture. "I mean it's only your future at stake. One slip of the leg and you may yet have promising future as soprano in opera."

The lack of retort was more than concerning. If anything, Natsu always had something to say to Gray's teases but today he was uncharacteristically silent about it. Past three weeks were more than just a simple indication that certain aspects of him changed. Though the essence was there, Gray could've sworn he was becoming less of an asshole.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked.

"Hm? What?"

"You and Lucy, everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is peachy." Natsu quickly responded, sporting a wide grin that Gray already knew well. There was something in there, buried deep inside of pinkette that was like a thorn. Long practices and countless drills that coach implements always made that walk to the showers as long as one can possibly feel "I kinda like the pace…" He said, letting the stream of hot water splash his head, washing away the sweat "Sure, it is slower than usual but…"

"But?" Gray asked, prompting Natsu to continue his train of thoughts.

"It feels oddly… satisfying… not having to rush things, not having to give it my all."

"Not that you actually needed much effort to begin with." Gray quickly threw in comment.

"Yeah. But now I don't need to worry about it. I mean, I try to see her as often as possible during study hours, that and texts. When it's time to happen, it'll happen."

"Well colour me impressed, you are almost a moth." Gray commented once more, not even trying to hide the chuckle that revealed amusement. "And speaking of 'happening', I have a bone to pick with you."

"What did I do?" Natsu asked as he soaped himself.

"You cock-blocked me." Gray barked back but Natsu showed no signs of understanding the meaning behind Gray's concise explanation "That serenade you made me sign with you… guess who found out about it."

"No way… really?" Natsu asked, lips began curving up into smile and excitement.

"Oh yeah. Someone filmed it and uploaded on YouTube. 'Blast from the past' that's how they titled our… performance." Gray continued through gritted teeth "And guess who found out about it…"

"Juvia is jealous but she wouldn't be jealous of Lucy. I mean it was for my sake!"

"Oh she is not mad because it was Lucy, she was livid because, apparently, I forgot to sing under her window. _Where is my serenade_? _How come you can sing for Lucy and not for your girlfriend? _You are actively working on screwing my sex life Natsu…"

"Come on, once she cools down she'll… uh… well you know… I am sure she is gonna see the… Ok I got nothing, she's nuts!"

Gray kept growling at Natsu, throwing one curse after another, mentioning everything from barren crops to shrivelled balls. Natsu found it highly amusing since they were always physical when it came to arguing. Black eyes, bruises and bloody noses were ritual more practiced than saying 'hello'. But they grew up, they transcended fists and kicks when they entered Fairy Tail… though that was less of the wish to oblige to faculty law and more about the fear that coach Elfman may fulfil his promise and beat the crap out of them. Though he grumbled and cursed, Natsu knew that Gray would've done it again if he was asked and it was that very thought that comforted him. Some friends come and go, some move on with their lives and leave the memories of old locked deep inside their minds but at least two of them may survive.

The silence that ensued during showering gave Natsu time to once again evaluate his relationship. He didn't lie that he enjoyed slow pace but there was another bug that refused to leave… Will this last? How long will it last and if it won't, on what terms will they split? Break ups were never hard for Natsu, even when he was on the receiving but the thought of this one ending gave him familiar clench in his stomach. He worked hard for this… for her.

Gray did not utter a word until they left the locker-rooms. Jokes aside, Natsu knew that this was something that Gray cherished more than anything and it was his burden to carry until air is clear between him and Juvia. But Gray's woes had to wait, for an eerie sound that echoed through the halls of Fairy Tail made living statues out of both of them…

"Gray! Natsu!" Shout came once more from the demon itself, removing any doubt about her identity along with any hope of escaping. Erza, though not in bad mood, was always a worthy reason for them to leak into their pants "Excellent, you are both still here!" She uttered in firm voice as she came close to them.

"Whatever I did, I swear it's a lie!" Natsu quickly responded, making a slight motions with hands, cupping his still aching groin.

"I have something for both of you." Erza said and handed two envelopes to them. Both of their names were on the said envelopes and they hurriedly opened them.

"We are happy to invite you…" Gray mumbled as he read the content "… wedding of Laxus Dreyar and Mirajane Straus…"

"This is in two weeks." Natsu interjected, raising both his eyebrows as he read.

"Indeed it is." Erza confirmed "Laxus asked me to deliver these to you and I expect both of you to come."

"Don't you mean 'hope' for us to come?" Gray looked up toward Erza whose facial expression tried to appear stern but the grin was almost impossible to hide "I mean, maybe I have prior engagement."

"Nonsense." Erza quickly dismissed Gray's words "You will both appear, no excuses, no backtalk. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." They both said in unison, swallowing hard at her subtle threat.

"Don't you think she is a bit too excited about this?" Natsu asked as he watched Erza walk away, speaking only when she was outside of hearing distance.

"To skin us alive or to go to wedding?" Gray chuckled at his own question.

"Remember what happened last time at her cousin's wedding when she failed to catch flowers?" Gray shivered at Natsu's words as pinkette offered a small nod "I thought that wedding was gonna turn into funeral."

"Well let's hope world doesn't end in two weeks." Gray commented, eyes once again fell down on the paper. Low hum escaped through his nose as he reached end of it "I need to find that 'plus one' of mine… I think I found a way to get on her good side… What about you? Gonna ask Lucy?"

"Yeah. I think she might enjoy it." He added with a pat on Gray's chest and moved along, leaving Gray on his perilous quest. It wasn't a surprise that ceremony was this soon, from what Natsu heard, this was planned for years and Laxus leaves nothing to chance. Then, a thought appeared… An utterly selfish thought that his mind conceived in form of Lucy wearing a formal dress for this occasion. His smile became apparent but he couldn't stop what came next… a simple flashing image before eyes, shorter than a blink of an eye… Lucy in white. It was that thought of white that made him entirely red.

Natsu quickly shook his head as he tried to expel the image. Many thoughts found safe haven in his head but this one had to be thrown away. _Too early_ he screamed silently inside his head and quickened his pace toward the exit. By now, she was probably on the way home and if he hurried he might catch her for today he failed to see here every time he tried. It was then he fully understood what Gray's words meant and what it means to be in actual and meaningful relationship.

As he stepped out of the main building, he spotted a peculiar figure in the distance, right at the gates of Fairy Tail premises. A familiar blonde, standing, talking to a face he recognized from afar. His pace quickened even more, moving around other students as he kept his eyes peeled at pair… Closer he got, more apparent it became that Lucy wanted out of this but the moment she tried, hand grabbed her above elbow and prevented her from moving away… That was the red light in Natsu's head.

"Listen to reason." Sean growled as he tried to pull her closer to him.

"Let. Me. Go!" She said as she tried to yank arm away but without success. Anger was just one of the emotions she experienced now, dominant one was fear "This is no longer your concern."

"Like hell it isn't!" Sean snarled once again, louder this time "She is my daughter and I have right to see her."

"Then why didn't you see her when I was in hospital?" Lucy shouted "Where were you for nine months? Where were you when I screamed all alone in hospital? Where were you when she got small pox?"

"I thought you aborted. It is not my fau-"

"Don't lie!" Lucy pulled her arm once again and successfully removed herself from his grip "You knew about Michelle all this time, you just didn't want the burden."

"You can't keep going like this and you know it. Sooner or later you will-"

The sentence was rendered moot as Natsu stood in-between two of them. Eyebrows bent into frown, fire erupted from his eyes with neigh-murderous intent as he stared at Sean "Get back." Natsu threatened as he clenched his fists. Sean didn't need long to recognize the hair… though eyes were different. Last time, in the club, he looked less threatening, less dangerous… now he looked like he was looking for an excuse to throw first punch.

"A friend to the rescue huh?" Sean snorted "This is between her and me."

"I am her boyfriend now." Natsu shot back at him and watched the surprise on Sean's face "I'm pretty involved in this so back away or have your nose broken… I won't ask twice."

"This is not over." Sean said to Lucy over Natsu's shoulder but in that very instant pair of hands slammed against his chest and grabbed shirt, pulling him closer toward Natsu who looked like an angry dragon who just had someone touch his treasure…

"No, this is over, you understand?!" Natsu barked at Sean, proving that there is a huge difference in their strengths "She doesn't want you near Michelle and I don't want you near Lucy."

"Let. Me. Go." Sean said through clenched teeth but instead of complying, Natsu clenched his fists around shirt he held.

"Or you'll do what?" Pinkette dared him "You'll get restraining order for me too?" That line threw Sean off. The very mention of it brought a rather painful memory and his tongue instantly brushed over new set of front teeth that replaced shattered ones "I am not Loke… He can't get this close to you, but guess what, I can." Smile appeared on Natsu's face, not out of amusement but sheer lunacy that hid behind his intentions "And I'll do more than him if you keep pestering her. Got it?"

Natsu released Sean's shirt and pushed him back a few feet. Man in question staggered abut quickly gained composure. He wondered if he could be the one to throw that first punch but from what he has seen, doing so to Natsu may yet prove to be perilous task. Sean looked at Lucy one more time before he left, leaving her to let out a sigh of relief.

"You alright?" Natsu asked as he turned and so did his expression "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-no, I'll be fine…" Lucy said, rubbing the spot where Sean dug his fingers. It was all Natsu needed to realize she is not fine. Still, Lucy took the pain better than any girl and soon a soft smile curved on her lips "Thank you…"

"Hey, don't mention it." He replied in kind as he tried to reassure her… and he succeeded. Little did he know that the moment she saw his hair before her, she felt safe. He came out of nowhere… like a true superman does "So what was that about? Still trying to get to Michelle?"

"Yeah. He is not giving up on that…" Lucy replied to his question, blood once again circulated through her limbs and her hands started to warm up.

"Well neither am I." Natsu added and made Lucy flash another smile. It was all he needed to see "You still look a bit concerned…"

Lucy took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She turned around and made toward the exit with Natsu following her closely "I have to quit one job if I am to find time to study… my finances are going to be tight for a while so… I'm a little tense."

"That much I can understand." Natsu added. He finally remembered reason why he was searching for her "You just need to relax for a day."

"Well good luck with that. I have all the time in the world…" Lucy mumbled sarcastically.

"I have an idea." He quickly said as he stopped walking. Blonde turned around and walked a bit closer, curious as to what he meant "Lucy…"

"Yeah?" She asked sceptically.

"Would you do me the honour…"

"Umm… Natsu?" She asked, eyes peeled at him as wide as they possibly could be as he reached into his inner pocket. Her heart started beating fast, aching to escape through her chest as the feeling of cold feet once again returned "What are you doing?"

"Asking you important question." Natsu added and resumed his previous line "Would you… do me the honour… and be my plus one at the wedding in two weeks? I am kinda short on the list of people I can ask and… well… It's gonna be awkward if I ask Gray."

Lucy looked at the envelope he held in his hand, dumbfounded by what he just said. It took her good ten seconds to finally snap out of her blank state and rub her eyes "You're an idiot…" She mumbled "I swear I thought you were gonna-"

"I was gonna what?" Natsu asked but Lucy quickly turned away and started walking. Pinkette was left with little choice but to follow her.

"Nothing!" She quickly shouted, groaning lowly at the thoughts that occurred to her.

"You didn't answer me. Will you come with me?" He asked again.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Natsu…" She turned around to look at him. At this point it was useless to cover the red tint on her cheeks that appeared out of nowhere "Wedding is a special thing. It is most important ceremony in life and I can't show up looking like this. I don't even have anything remotely suitable to wear."

"Is that the problem?" Natsu asked, arcing his brow "That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'? That's enough!"

"See… that would've been a problem if I asked about a month ago." Natsu said as he pulled out phone from his pocket and went through contacts "However, about a week ago I got something that might help you."

"Natsu? Who are you calling?" Lucy asked in low tone. Anxiety levels rose through the roof as she watched him lean phone against his ear. There was no telling who will answer.

"Hello? Yeah, it's me, Natsu… Yeah I know my name was on display, I have a favour to ask… Yeah it's about Lucy…" The mention of her name all of Lucy's blood drain from her face and the cute blush disappeared in matter of seconds "Can you come to her house? Yeah tonight works… Alright, see ya?"

"Who were you talking to?" Lucy asked in thin, almost silent voice.

"That was your best friend with crazy blue hair."

"Since when do you have Levy's number?"

"Since last week when she gave it to me for emergencies. Anyway I have to run so I'll be at your place around… eight. Gotta run!"

Lucy was left completely baffled by the situation. It wasn't enough that she had to go through two traumatizing events today but everything she just witnessed promised a third one. She knew well what Levy was capable of and she learned that Natsu is equally, if not more, capable of twisting her life beyond her control. The worst was yet to come…


End file.
